Lord of the Rings: An Outlaw's Redemption
by Angry lil' elf
Summary: After dying, Arthur is given a second chance at life and is sent to a world unknown to help better its future. But has Arthur really changed? Or will he fall back into his old habits of being a killer and a thief?
1. A Stranger in Middle-Earth

**Lord of the Rings: An Outlaw's Redemption**

…

_Chapter 1: A Stranger in Middle-Earth._

Pitch black was all Arthur could see. An inky pitch black void as he floated slowly downwards, surrounding him from all sides. Flashes of what happened in the last few hours played out in Arthur's head. He remembered his last plea to Dutch to see the snivelling rat Micah Bell was, how he held off the Pinkertons while telling John to be with his family, telling him to be a man for him. Those last few moments raced through Arthur's mind as he slowly descended into the dark void. Arthur began hyperventilating as he came to the realisation.

_I'm dead, ain't I?_

As his feet felt something solid to stand on, Arthur touched his chest, feeling for any of the wounds Micah inflicted. To Arthur's surprise, his chest no longer felt like it was full of blood. Blinking rapidly, he realised that he was no longer in any pain of any sort, in spite of his rapid breathing. And strangely, he could see his own body, fully clothed, as though he were illuminated, even in this dark abyss.

"Is… is this Hell?" Arthur whispered as he looked around and took a step forward, feeling solid ground, even though there was none visible to the naked eye. Looking upwards, Arthur was greeted with the same darkness.

"Hello?" Arthur called out and his voice did not echo. Arthur felt a little unsettled by this, to say the very least. But then again, Hell wasn't meant to be pleasant for anyone who deserved it.

"Well… this ain't what was I expectin' to be Hell…" Arthur remarked.

"That's because it isn't, Mr Morgan," said a calm voice. Arthur spun around, his hand reaching for his gunbelt, only to find his gunbelt nor were his guns there at all. Not even his hunting knife was there.

A man who Arthur would swear wasn't there a moment ago was seated at a wooden desk. He was dressed in a black suit with a long stove pipe hat atop his head. A large dark brown handlebar moustache sat above his lips and his dark eyes were focussed on some papers on the desk he sat at.

"What the hell…?" Arthur muttered cautiously as he approached the man. A single light shone down on the stranger, as though he were on a theatre stage.

"As I just said, Hell is not where you are, Mr Morgan," the stranger said with a small smirk on his lips. "Sit. We have much to discuss," he suggested.

Having no other alternative, Arthur cautiously took a seat at the desk facing the man.

"I… uh… can't exactly say this is what I thought the afterlife would be like," Arthur said making a feeble attempt at a joke. "Is this… uh… judgement before I go to… wherever I'm going to?" he asked the stranger.

"No," said the stranger in response. "This is something of a special case area," he added, dipping the tip of his quill into the ink bottle in front of him before writing again. "People who the Big Man upstairs feels are worthy of redemption," he then said.

Arthur blinked in surprise. "Redemption?" he repeated. "I think the Big Man mighta made a mistake," he said slowly. His eyes drifted down to his feet and the void below. "I dunno if God made the right choice in that regard. I mean… I tried to do some good before the end, to make my exit a little more… dignified, but I wasn't expecting to get through the pearly gates."

"And they haven't," replied the stranger. "But that doesn't necessarily mean you aren't going to be given a chance at redemption," he said with an amused chuckle. He set his quill down and locked his fingers together in front of him and smiled in a way that unnerved Arthur deeply. "No. God has special plans for you. Plans, that if you play your cards right, might get you a ticket into the penthouse. And maybe a chance to live a little differently than you did before."

"I… I don't understand…" Arthur said in confusion, his eyes narrowing in confusion and disbelief.

"It's not for you to understand," said the stranger. "At least, not entirely just yet," he added. "Just know that you'll be able to put the skills you have to good use for something far less than unpleasant," he explained.

"My skills?" Arthur uttered in confusion. "I don't have anyh skills that ain't fer robbin' and killin' folk. Those skills ain't much use for… whatever it is God plans for me to do," he said.

"It all depends what those skills are aimed at, Mr Morgan, even skills such as yours," the stranger countered wagging his finger at the veteran cowboy. "A lot of good can come from those skills if they're pointed in the right direction," he said.

The stranger stood from his seat, his hands folded behind his back as he walked around to the front of the desk to stand directly in front of Arthur. "Or, if you want, you could just use those skills of yours to do what you always did," he said casually. "Killing and robbing innocent people. It would mean damning your soul again, but it's your choice," he added.

Arthur looked at the stranger in disbelief and asked, "Ain't you supposed to be working for the Big Man? Why tell me somethin' like that if the point of this was for to get into heaven?"

"Oh, make no mistake, Mr Morgan. I do work for the Big Man, but my outlook on life is bleaker than his," replied the stranger as he leaned on the desk. "If I'm being honest, I admire your work. All of it, in point of fact. But I wonder: has that old gunslinging, murdering thief changed? Or is being on my doorstep making him sentimental?" he asked as he smiled once more.

The smile the man was sporting sent chills down Arthur's spine. Whoever this man, despite his mannerisms, terrified Arthur to the bone and there wasn't much that Arthur was afraid of. But this man? He filled Arthur with a sense of dread he had never known before.

"Who… _what_ the Hell are you?" Arthur asked.

"I'm called many things, Mr Morgan," replied the stranger. "But enough about me, let's get you moving along, shall we?" he suggested helpfully as he walked back to sit at his seat again. Arthur felt the pressure of the man's presence be lifted off his shoulders, but he was still unnerved.

"O-Okay then, so what's gonna happen to me in my new life?" Arthur asked. "Am I gonna be reborn as a kid back home?" he half-joked.

"No. Your time in your world is over," replied the stranger as he picked up another piece of paper to write on. "We're going to be sending you to a different one," he said. "Although we will take a few years off of your life. Ten years should be enough," he added.

"Huh? The hell does that even mean?" Arthur said.

"There are many worlds besides the one you called home for all your life, Mr Morgan," said the stranger, smiling slightly as he looked at Arthur. "Worlds much like the places your friend John reads about to his son. Places full of wonder beyond imagination," he added.

Arthur gave a slight chortle of disbelief and said, "So you're gonna send me to a world full of knights and dragons?"

"Something like that, but a little different," said the stranger with an amused chuckle. "But as you know all too well, not all stories are as glamorous as they seem. Some are full of darkness and terror. Terrors you've yet to know or experience," he added. "You've seen the evil men are capable of, but you've yet to see what True Evil is." The stranger licked his thumb, picking up another page and writing again.

"What does that mean exactly?" Arthur asked, his brow furrowing.

"Now where's the fun in telling you?" replied the stranger. "That's for you to find out. You have much to see and learn about the new world we're sending you to," he said with a chuckle as he stood up from his seat. "But don't worry, despite the medieval status of the world we're sending you to, we won't be sending you there with nothing," he added as he walked around the left side of the desk and tapped it.

Sliding out from the desk was a drawer full of things Arthur recognised. It was all the guns he had collected prior to his death in a large panel. "You… you're gonna give me all my guns?" he asked the stranger hopefully.

"Not all of them, we don't want this to be too easy for you," replied the stranger. "About four will do, so I thought it'd be best if you chose ones you were familiar with," he said, waving a hand at the guns presented. "You can take two long guns and two handguns, about what you'd carry on foot, correct?" he asked.

"Yeah… I guess," Arthur muttered as he looked at the selection of guns on offer. "but if this place you're sending me to is full of knights and all that, what are good are my guns when I ran of ammo?" he asked.

"Don't worry about that," the stranger said. "Once you've made your choice, I'll give them a little tweak to help you out," he added vaguely. Arthur chose not to press any further and looked at the selection of guns that he had collected. The first gun that caught Arthur's eye was Calloway's Schofield Revolver; it was among Arthur's favourite trophy guns he had taken from the gunslingers and it was a very good revolver with power, range and accuracy rolled into one, Arthur placed the revolver in his sidearm holster. The next gun Arthur chose was his Lancaster repeater, it having served him very well in many shootouts with bounty hunters, rival gangs and lawmen; slinging the Lancaster over his back, Arthur looked for his next choice. Running a finger on the sawed-off shotgun, Arthur picked it up and tucked it away in his offhand holster figuring it would come in useful if anyone got too close for comfort. The last gun was a difficult choice for Arthur; deciding he wanted something long distance, he chose the rolling block rifle having put down quite a bit of game with it during his time and he slung it over his shoulder.

"Have you made your choice?" the stranger asked Arthur who nodded in reply. Taking out some pieces of paper, the stranger drew a circle of strange runes on each piece before laying them out on the desk. "Place each of your guns on each paper please," the stranger instructed.

Curious and wary, Arthur placed his guns on each piece of paper and waited. The stranger then stamped the corner of each page with a stamp and the runes on the papers glowed brightly, illuminating each gun. Arthur took a cautious step back before the light faded and he noticed that each gun now handle a small pentagram on their handles.

"What did you do?" Arthur asked as he gingerly picked up the Schofield and examined it.

"I solved your ammunition problem, Mr Morgan," replied the stranger. "You'll figure it out as you go," he said calmly patting Arthur on the shoulder. "In fact, as you progress throughout the new world, your guns will grow and have unique features to them. You'll learn them over time," he added.

Placing his hands behind his back, the stranger looked at Arthur and asked, "So, how are you processing all this, Mr Morgan?"

Arthur put his guns on and shrugged. "Barely. I can't believe where I'm at, or who you work for, or what's going on. I just… I don't know. I wasn't expecting this when I died. Not in the least."

"Don't think about it too much," said the stranger. "Others have said much the same in your position. Can't say I blame you," he added before clapping his hands. "But, try to see this as a new opportunity. One not unlike the chance you gave John before departing from him. A fresh start to live how you see as fit."

Arthur tugged the brim of his hat nervously. "I-I suppose… so, is there anything about this new world you can tell me about?" he asked cautiously.

"Quite a lot, in fact, but none of it I'll be telling you" replied the stranger. Arthur looked at him in confusion. "Think of this as a start of your trials to come. A baptism of fire, if you will," he said.

"That doesn't fill me with confidence," Arthur said scratching the bristles on his jaw.

"It'll be a little shaky for you, but you'll learn to adapt and overcome," the stranger said. "Word of advice: don't tell anyone you're from another world, they'll think you're mad," he warned.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Arthur admitted. "So… now what?" he asked.

"Now? Now off you go," the stranger said. "Enjoy your new life. Oh, and one last bit of advice," he added and Arthur looked at him questioningly. "Be careful of a golden ring," he said cryptically.

"Uh… okay," Arthur mumbled and when he thought to ask another question, he felt his body go limp and he blacked out.

…

Arthur woke up with a sharp gasp and intake of air. Breathing rapidly, he looked around; it was night time and the stars shone overhead while the moon gleamed like a shining silver coin in the sky. Another look told Arthur that he was not in Roanoke Ridge, so what he thought was a dream was very real. Standing to his feet, Arthur brushed himself and looked ahead of him. In the distance, he could see a large dilapidated ruin and the distant glow of a fire. Cautious, but hopeful for the sight of possibly human company, Arthur strode forward towards the ruins and the distant fire, looking to find some answers as to where the hell he was.

Then as Arthur was within a short distance of the ruin, the frantic yelling of someone was heard. _"Put it out, you fools! Put it out!"_

Then another voice was heard. _"Oh, that's nice! Ash on my tomatoes!"_ the voice complained to which Arthur raised an eyebrow; someone thought it would be a good idea to have a fry-up when it was clear they were being hunted. Then a loud shrill blood-curdling screech rang out into the night. Arthur's hand reflexively drew his Schofield; whatever made that sound didn't sound friendly at all. Then Arthur spied five black hooded figures, each armed with swords which made Arthur raise an eyebrow. Then some frantic yells were heard; for a moment made to turn around and walk away from this, but some nagging feeling told that those black hooded strangers weren't friendly, and whomever it was they were hunting needed help.

"Ah, shit," Arthur cursed lowly as he began to search for a way up to the ruin. The black robed men had already found a way up. Cocking his Schofield, Arthur prepared to face whatever it was that awaited him.

As Arthur ran up the spiralling stairway, he could hear the yell of "Back you devils!" followed by the ringing of steel. Urging himself faster, Arthur neared the top of the steps when he heard a yell of pain and agony. Gritting his teeth in anger, Arthur reached the top of the steps to witness the scene.

Four children, at least that's Arthur thought them to be were scattered. One had its shoulder pierced by a dagger wielded by one of the black robed men. Looking at the black robed men, Arthur was surprised that there was only a black void where their faces were. Deciding not to question, Arthur aimed his Schofield at the one that had stabbed one of the children and fired.

A loud crack and bang broke the night sky, drowning the screams of anguish from the wounded child. The bullet hit from Arthur's gun hit the dagger wielding… man… thing in the shoulder causing it to give an inhuman screech. Its fellows all snapped their heads to where Arthur stood and Arthur swivelled his aim towards them. Time seemed to slow down as Arthur held his Schofield at the hip and fanned the hammer with his offhand, firing four rounds into the robed figures. Each bullet hit them in the chest or shoulder, knocking them back, staggering them. Swivelling his gun back at the dagger wielding figure, Arthur fired his last round at where the thing's heart would be.

This staggered the robed figure back making it screech again. Arthur opened his gun to reload but the strangest thing happened. As he opened the Schofield to expel the used cartridges, the used round only popped halfway before each one glowed slightly, pushing themselves back in one at a time. Arthur felt the weight of fresh rounds in his gun again before closing up the Schofield and prepared to aim again. But one of the robed figure seemingly recovered, no worse for wear but appeared to be extremely annoyed as it stalked towards Arthur with its sword raised.

"Shit!" Arthur cursed as he avoided an overhead swing from the robed figure's sword, a sharp clang ringing out as the blade hit the stone ground. Slamming the handle of his Schofield into the figure's head, Arthur then prepared to fire a round into the thing's face when another of the robed figures grabbed him by the arm and threw him to the side. Arthur grunted as he hit the stone floor, his Schofield knocked from his grasp. The robed figure who threw Arthur to the ground raised its sword, the tip pointed down towards Arthur's heart. A feeling of panic filled Arthur's heart as he realised that he was about to die again. When a loud yell broke Arthur's train of thought and leaping over Arthur was a man with dark flowing hair, wielding a longsword in one hand and brandishing a flaming brand in the other. Suddenly realising he wasn't about to die just yet, Arthur grabbed his Schofield and quickly stood to his feet. The man who rescued Arthur was clashing his sword against the robed men, swinging his burning brand into their long black robes, setting them, making them scream, fleeing and dropping over the sides of the ruin.

Arthur watched in awe as his rescuer took care of the robed figure, but one of the remaining robed men approached the four children. Without missing a beat, the stranger spun around and hurled his brand like a throwing knife and the burning end stuck itself firmly into the robed figure's face, setting alight and scream as it fled.

Arthur sighed in relief and holstered his gun. When he turned around, he saw the tip of the man's sword pointed at his face.

"What the hell?"

…

Strider looked at the stranger before, his eyes hard and unrelenting. The stranger was garbed in a manner different than most men, but his skin tone didn't suggest he was from the East. Then there was the man's weapons; they didn't match anything Strider knew of and he had briefly witnessed the man use one of them on the Nazgul; the loud cracks of thunder were made every time the man used his strange little weapon, appearing to injure each Nazgul when they were hit by something. Some kind of projectile, although what kind, Strider could not ascertain.

"This how you greet folk around here?" the stranger asked in a slightly annoyed tone. The man's accent was clearly foreign, it was almost a drawl. Strider prepared to ask the stranger who he was when Samwell shouted.

"STRIDER!"

Looking to the Halflings, the Dunédain ranger saw Frodo was injured and in great pain, clutching the wound on his shoulder. Running over to examine the Halfling, Strider spied the weapon that caused the injury. Holding the dagger up to examine it, the blade crumbled to dust but it was enough to tell Strider what it was.

"He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade," the Dunédain said grimly and tossed the hilt aside and picked Frodo up. "This is beyond my skill to heal. He needs elvish medicine if he is to survive," he stated. Looking back at the stranger, Strider said to him, "Thank you for your aid, stranger."

"You need any more help?" the stranger offered. "pretty sure those… things will be comin' back," he said.

Strider silently debated on what to say; on one hand the stranger had come to the Halflings aid, but on the other they had no way of knowing if this stranger was a friend or not. Deciding to risk it, Strider said to him, "Very well, but if you seek to harm us, I will not hesitate to kill you!"

The stranger gave a chuckle before saying, "Well, let's get goin'!" he said.

"What is your name, stranger?"

"Arthur. Arthur Morgan."

"Come, we must get to Rivendell!" Strider said hefting Frodo into his arms.

"We're six days from Rivendell!" Samwise cried out. "He'll never make it!"

"Hold on, Frodo," Strider whispered to the Halfling in his arms while Arthur Morgan kept pace with him, holding one of his strange weapons in his arms.

…

The group stopped in the forest near a ring of giant stone statues of strange looking creatures after Frodo's condition appeared to worsen. Arthur looked at the injured boy before looking at the man, Strider, and asked him, "Is the kid gonna be okay?"

"He's not a kid, Mr Morgan, sir!" protested one of Frodo's companions. "He's a hobbit!" he exclaimed.

"A what?" Arthur's eyebrows widened in askance.

"Halflings? Shire Folk?" said Frodo's friend as though it were obvious.

"Ain't heard anything like that before," Arthur replied shrugging his shoulders. The distant droning call set Arthur on edge as he looked down the scope of his rolling block.

"Is he going to die?" one of Frodo's other friends asked Strider who said, "He's passing into the shadow world. He'll soon become a wraith like them."

"Like who?" Arthur asked feeling a little out of the loop.

"Ringwraiths. The ones you fought before," Strider clarified and Arthur nodded in understanding before glancing at Frodo whose eyes were becoming a milky white colour. Leaning to whisper to Strider, Arthur said, "Listen, if the kid is becoming one of those… Ringwraiths, maybe we oughta, well I think you know."

Strider had a grim look of understanding and said, "Let us hope it does not come to that." Turning to look at the one called Samwise, he said, "Sam, do you know what Athelas is?" he asked the Halfling.

"Athelas?" Samwise said in confusion.

"Kingsfoil."

"Kingsfoil? Ah, it's a weed!" Samwise said in realisation.

"It may help to slow the poison," Strider told him before they set off into the woods to search for the plant.

Arthur made to go with them but he realised two things. The first being he had no idea what Athelas/Kingsfoil looked like and the second being it would be better if he stayed to guard the others. Leaning against one of the statues, Arthur looked at the other two hobbits and said to them, "So, I gotta ask: whose idea was it to have a cooking fire at night?" he asked accusingly.

The two hobbits, Merry and Pippin, both looked embarrassed and ashamed but neither wanted to own up to it. Arthur sighed irritably before saying, "Just dandy. I could see your fire miles away and those wraiths did as well," he said.

"We-we were hungry," Pippin said in a small voice.

"I understand that, but you coulda had food that you coulda eaten cold, couldn't ya?" Arthur said to him, raising an eyebrow. "It's common sense to not have a cooking fire at night when you're being hunted or on the run," he stated.

"We didn't think there was any danger," Merry said ashamedly, his head hanging low as he realised the weight of his and Pippin's mistake.

"Trust me. Whenever you think there isn't any danger, guarantee there is danger!" Arthur rebuked him sternly. "Next time, don't do anything stupid like that again, or else it'll cost ya everything you got!" he said coldly.

Merry and Pippin both looked suitably ashamed of themselves. Sighing to himself, Arthur went back to keeping a lookout. Then the neigh of a horse and the sound of cantering hooves alerted Arthur who readied his rolling block. Then riding into view was a woman of breathtaking beauty with long dark hair, wearing a dark blue riding outfit, long curved sword hanging on her hip astride a snow white horse. Strider and Samwise were running beside the mounted woman who dismounted gracefully and seemed to glide over to Frodo and spoke to him in a language that Arthur did not recognise.

"Who is she?"

"She's an elf!" Samwise said in hushed reverent awe. Arthur then saw the pointed tips of the woman's ears as she spoke to Strider in her strange tongue.

…

Arwen cast a curious and cautious glance at the man who was standing beside the other hobbits. His garb was foreign but not that of the East. A large broad brimmed hat made of stitched leather sat atop the man's head. Then there were the strange weapons he possessed, one of which he held in his hands.

Looking at Strider, Arwen asked him, "Who is that man?"

"He calls himself Arthur Morgan," Strider answered. "I don't know who he is or where he came from, but he helped fight off the wraiths with those weapons of his," he said.

"What are those weapons? I've never seen them before," Arwen said.

"I don't know," Strider said calmly. "But they seem to shoot some sort of projectile and make sounds of thunder when they do," he added as he lifted Frodo into the saddle. "I'll send horses for you," he then said to Arwen.

"I am the faster rider! I will take him!" Arwen protested.

"It is too dangerous!" Strider argued.

"If I can get Frodo across the river, the power of my people will protect him," Arwen said. Placing a gloved hand over Strider's, she said, "I do not fear them."

Strider nodded, conceding before saying, "Ride hard. Do not look back." Arwen mounted her horse and spoke in elvish to it. The horse snorted before setting off into a fast gallop.

"What are ya doing?!" Samwise shouted angrily. "Those wraiths are still out there!" he said.

Arthur watched in helplessness. He had not known what Strider and the elf-woman said during their exchange as they had spoken in that strange language, but there was not much to be done about it now.

…

Three days later, the group marched exhaustedly toward the ford. Dark rings circled Arthur's eyes as he breathed hard from the forced march with little to no rest. The worrying thought that the Ringwraiths had managed to capture Frodo was all on their minds as they made their march across plains and forests to reach Rivendell. As they came to the ford, a group of elves on horses came riding out to meet them.

"Lady Arwen sent us here to await your arrival," said one of the riders.

"Frodo? Is Frodo alright?!" Samwise called out anxiously.

"He has been through much, but he is on the mend, young master Samwise," replied the lead elf. "Gandalf awaits by his side," he then said.

"Gandalf is here?" Pippin asked in obvious excitement and the lead elf nodded before noticing Arthur.

"And who is this?" the elf asked.

"Just a friend who helped these fellers out," Arthur replied calmly. "Don't mind me," he said.

The elf narrowed his gaze at Arthur and Arthur uttered a quiet curse. "If you'll come with us, Lord Elrond expects you all," the elven rider said before fixing Arthur with a stern glare. "You will come with us. We need to ask you some questions," he said in a tone that brokered no argument. Arthur sighed in resignation as they were lead across the river. Arthur didn't have much to take in the scenery as he was relieved of his weapons and taken to a small holding cell. Strider had spoken with the elven rider who spoke in his strange language; clearly Strider was arguing for Arthur to be shown leniency, but it seemed the elf was not having it.

Arthur lay on the cot, staring up at the ceiling. He wasn't expecting any of this and now it seemed that it was very likely he'd end up with a noose around his neck. Some way to start his new life in a new world.

Feeling the need for sleep overcome him, Arthur closed his eyes and surrendered himself to sleep.

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: There! The first chapter of this done and dusted! I hope it was good enough to pass the grade and I'm surprised no-one has ever thought of doing a crossover like this before. I guess it may have been lack of interest in the crossover, or perhaps no-one thought it worth the time. We'll see if this story gets any views/reviews and if they're good, we may just see another chapter and maybe more after that.**

**So, a quick briefing on Arthur's weapons, I wanted to give him weapons that would be versatile and reliable, so I gave Arthur the Lancaster because of its versatility and also because it's my go-to weapon in RDR2. The Calloway Revolver I gave to Arthur because it looks pretty cool and it's a decent gun to have and the sawed-off shotgun In think would be useful for situations where an enemy gets up close and lot of enemies are gonna get up close in Middle-Earth. For the Rolling Block Rifle, I wanted something that would be long range/distance for Arthur's weapon, I mean the Lancaster could easily fill that role, but the long range scope and stopping power of the rolling block rifle in comparison to the Lancaster was a better choice in my opinion.**

**For other weapons, I could have Arthur bring a bow along with him for silent kills and hunting and all that. For close-up/melee weapons, I'm still deciding because on one hand Arthur isn't a trained swordsman like Aragorn/Strider or Boromir, so a sword might be out of the question, although I could have Arthur learn how to use one with help from Aragorn and Boromir. A hatchet would be useful given its multiple functions in that you can swing it and throw it, so a hatchet is the most likely melee weapon Arthur will use in melee combat. A knife would be useful also, but it'd only be good silent kills and hunting. Throwing knives would be useful as well, I'm thinking.**

**But other than that, I haven't got much more to say, so I'll just leave this here and see what you all think of it.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**

**EDIT: to everyone who pointed out I copied Mugiwara N0 Luffy's story intro The Gunslinger, I fully admit I copied the intro of that story, but I was honestly struggling with the start of this story. If everyone wants this chapter/story rewritten into something different, I will do so. I contacted Mugiwara and apologised to him for essentially plagiarising his work and he's willing to let it slide, but I will say to everyone here I did not have any ill-intentions, I simply wished to create a new story and I took the lazy way out. Again, I am sorry about this.**


	2. The Grey Pilgrim and the Gunslinger

**Lord of the Rings: An Outlaw's Redemption.**

…

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back to the second chapter of this crossover. First off, I want to apologise to you all; some of you have correctly pointed out that I copied the intro of the first chapter from another Red Dead Redemption crossover with Goblin Slayer titled The Gunslinger by Mugiwara N0 Luffy and I sincerely apologise for that, but I was honestly struggling what to write and I should have contacted the author to get their permission. Mugiwara was willing to let it slide for the moment but has warned me about copying other people's work. And I apologise to all of you for not putting in any actual effort in creating my own intro. If the decision is unanimous that the first chapter should be rewritten or the story itself rewritten, I will do and at least attempt to be more original with the intro.**

**Now with that out of the way, let's get this show on the road.**

…

_**Chapter 2: The Grey Pilgrim and the Gunslinger**_

Arthur had gotten a couple hours of sleep when the sound of his cell door's lock being released woke him up. Sitting up alert and cautious, Arthur watched as a tall man with long dark flowing hair, pointed ears and wearing long robes with a circlet on his head entered the cell with what Arthur assumed to be a guardsman.

The tall elf looked at Arthur for a long moment, his gaze seeming to penetrate Arthur's soul, before speaking. "Greetings to you, Arthur Morgan, I am Lord Elrond," he spoke in a calm regal voice.

"Eh, howdy," Arthur replied unsure of how to act before nobility. "Would you mind tellin' me why I'm locked up in here?" he asked.

"When Strider and my daughter Arwen spoke of you, I wished to ascertain whether you were an agent of the Enemy," replied Lord Elrond. "But seeing you before me now, I must profess I am curious about you," he said his gaze narrowing slightly. "Your garb is foreign and your accent is different as well. Then there are your weapons, I have not seen such weapons as yours before," he added.

Arthur sighed softly, thinking of what to say to this man; would he believe him if he told him he was from another world? Possible, but nebulously so at best. "I guess you could say I'm not from around here," Arthur slowly said, not quite telling the truth but it wasn't a lie either.

The guardsman spoke up, "Speak the truth, stranger! Lest we be forced to extract it from you!" he threatened. Lord Elrond fixed the guardsman with a stern look before looking at Arthur and saying to him, "Please, Mr Morgan, we wish you no harm. We only wish to know who you are."

"Well, it's a… very long and sad story," Arthur admitted, his eyes distant as memories of back home and his ways with the gang played out in his mind.

"Lord Elrond, he is not forthcoming with the truth. Perhaps he is an agent of the enemy?" the guardsman whispered to Lord Elrond who shook his head and replied, "If he were an agent of the enemy, he would look fairer and feel fouler. No, Mr Morgan is simply a lost soul who has been through much hardship and tiring ordeals," he said.

"That obvious, huh?" Arthur huffed sarcastically.

"I've seen eyes such as yours quite often, Mr Morgan," Lord Elrond said softly. "Now, your weapons; what are they?" he asked.

"They're guns," replied Arthur almost immediately. "They're sorta common hunting and fighting weapons where I'm from," he said.

"And what exactly do they fire? I do not see anything resembling arrows in them," Lord Elrond said.

"They fire bullets," Arthur said. "Pieces of lead encased in brass cylinders filled with gunpowder that when ignited forces the lead outta the barrel at great speed," he explained as best he could.

"Interesting," Lord Elrond murmured in interest. "And how did you acquire such weapons?" he asked.

"I bought three of them and took one from someone who I killed, although he did try to kill me first," replied Arthur. Elrond nodded his head at this before saying, "From what you are saying, you seem to be telling the truth," he said.

"I ain't got any reason to lie."

"Perhaps. And how is it you found yourself in these lands?"

"Well, I… don't rightly know," replied Arthur reluctantly. "I was… fighting someone and he dealt me some pretty bad blows, although he wasn't able to kill me," he said with a half-smile as he remembered how he taunted Micah that he couldn't kill a dying man no matter how hard he tried. "But I fell unconscious and I woke up not far from that ruin where I found those kids being attacked by those guys in black robes."

"The hobbits and Nazgul you mean," Elrond said.

Arthur nodded. "Yeah, I think that was them. Then Strider showed up and drove those bastards off. They don't like fire too much, I reckon. Then the rest, well, you know the rest," he said.

Elrond nodded and looked at Arthur for a moment and said, "What do you know of the One Ring?" he asked.

"Ring? What ring?" Arthur asked.

"Hmm… you don't know about the Ring then," Elrond remarked. "In any case you have done us a great service by keeping the Ring out of the Enemy's hands. You have my thanks," he said with a regal bow of his head.

"Err… happy to have helped, I guess," Arthur replied, a little confused by what Elrond had said. He vaguely recalled the Stranger telling him to be wary of a golden ring. Perhaps this _One Ring_ Elrond mentioned was the thing the Stranger warned him of.

"I bid you welcome to Rivendell, Arthur Morgan," Elrond then said placing a hand on Arthur's shoulder and leading him out of the cell. Arthur then took in the sight of Rivendell and he was openly awed by the sight of the valley before. His jaw was doing its best to drop to the floor and his eyes were wider with wonder.

"Now this… this a sight," the cowboy said in awe and he suddenly wished he had a picture box so that he could take a picture of this place so that he would have something to remember this place by.

After managing to pull his eyes away from the gorgeous view, Arthur asked, "So, the Hobbits and Strider? Where are they?"

"Frodo is recovering and his friends are waiting by his side. Strider is in the library," replied Elrond. "There is someone who wishes to speak with you at this very moment," he said.

"Really? Don't know a whole lotta people 'round here," Arthur muttered.

"Come this way, please," Elrond said. Leading Arthur through Rivendell, down the many passageways and winding staircases, Arthur marvelled at how everything didn't seem to be constructed the way things back home were. They looked more like they were grown from the ground.

Then coming to a wooden door, Elrond knocked on it three times and the door swung open to reveal elderly looking gentleman wearing rough spun grey robes with a full grey beard and long grey hair.

"Mithrandir, I have brought the stranger who assisted the Ringbearer and his companions," Elrond said to the older gentleman.

"Thank you, Lord Elrond," said the old man before looking at Arthur. "Come inside, please. We have much to discuss," he added.

A tad confused, Arthur entered the room and Elrond closed the door behind him. The room was lit up by the sunlight that streamed in from the large open windows and laying on a bed unconscious or fast asleep was Frodo.

"Is the kid okay?" Arthur asked when he laid eyes on Frodo.

"He has endured much, but he was a strong will," replied the old man as he took a seat on a nearby chair and pulled out a clay pipe, putting some, what Arthur could only assume was tobacco before lighting it with the flame of a candle. Sticking the stem in the corner of his mouth, the old man sucked in a lungful before removing the pipe and blowing out a stream of grey smoke.

"So, what did you wanna talk with me about?" Arthur asked as he remained standing.

"Well, for starters who you are, Mr Morgan," replied the old man. "But where are my manners? I am Gandalf the Grey," he introduced himself.

"Heard that name when I came to the ford with the others," Arthur commented.

"Indeed," Gandalf nodded his head in acknowledgement. "And I'd like to express my gratitude for your intervention at Weathertop when the Nazgul attacked Frodo and his companions," he then said gratefully.

"Wouldn't have happened in the first place if those kids hadn't lighted a cooking fire," Arthur pointed out.

"Yes, I gave Masters Brandybuck, Took and Gamgee a stern talking to about that, but Frodo wasn't aware as he had been asleep at the time when they decided to have a cooking fire," Gandalf said.

Arthur gave a snort. "Dumb kids," he muttered.

"Quite so," Gandalf agreed. "But the question is who you are, Mr Morgan," he said.

"I'm sure Lord Elrond can tell ya bout me," Arthur replied.

"Oh? About your days as an outlaw?" Gandalf asked and Arthur's eyes widened in shock.

"How did you-?" Arthur tried to ask but words then failed him.

Gandalf gave a chuckle and said, "Forgive me. A little magic on my part to glimpse into your memories," he explained. "I don't do it often, and I was hoping you would be more forthcoming with me," he then said.

"Right," Arthur grunted in annoyance before he sighed and said, "Guess the cat's outta the bag. Might as well tell you my story."

Arthur then began to tell the Wizard of his life, from growing up poor, the death of his parents to being found by Dutch van der Linde and Hosea Matthews to the final days of the Van der Linde Gang and his death. Gandalf had a contemplative look on his features; his eyes had some measure of disapproval at some of the things Arthur did as a member of the Van der Linde gang. But there was also sympathy in Gandalf's eyes when Arthur told of how he contracted Tuberculosis and how he tried to do some good before the end and made sure that John and his family got out.

When Arthur finished his tale, Gandalf spoke. "It seems you have had quite a long and difficult journey, Mr Morgan," he said. "You've made mistakes, but you've tried to do some good in the end," he added.

"I dunno about that, Mr Gandalf," said Arthur rubbing his face a little. "I wasn't expecting to get into the pearly gates, but I certainly never expected this!"

"Perhaps Fate saw fit to give you a second chance?" Gandalf suggested. "A chance to make up for your ignoble past?" he added.

"I think Fate mighta made the wrong choice in that regard," Arthur replied recalling his conversation with the Stranger about being given a second chance to earn redemption. "I ain't got any other skills that ain't used for killing and robbing folk," he said.

"Perhaps so," Gandalf said nodding his head. "But I think you try to fool yourself in saying that what skills you have aren't for much good," he added.

"What'chu mean by that?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know how much you know or if Lord Elrond told you, but Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction," said Gandalf, his voice grave and serious. "A great enemy has returned and now seeks to recover what was lost and with it impose his will on all life in Middle-Earth."

"A great enemy?" Arthur parroted. "Is it something to do with a ring by any chance?" he asked.

"Indeed, it is, Mr Morgan," Gandalf replied. "Many millennia ago, Sauron the Deceiver gave nineteen rings to the leaders of the free races of Middle-Earth. Three were given to the Elves. Seven to the Dwarf Lords. And nine were given to the Kings of Men," he said.

"And it was too good to be true," Arthur said rather than asked. Gandalf nodded in confirmation.

"Sauron forged in secret in the fires of Mount Doom a master ring, pouring into it his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life," the Wizard said. "Many lands and people fell to the power of the One Ring, but a last alliance of Men and Elves marched upon Sauron's lands to destroy Sauron and his forces once and for all," he added.

"And they won?" Arthur asked.

Gandalf gave a sigh. "In one way, yes. But when the opportunity to destroy the One Ring and rid Middle-Earth of evil, Isildur, the son of Elendil, who had cut the Ring from Sauron's hand was corrupted by the power of the Ring and took it for his own," he said.

"He got greedy then," Arthur said putting two and two together. "So, has this Isildur become the enemy?" he asked.

"No. The Ring inevitably betrayed Isildur to his death and it was found by the creature Gollum who took it with him into the deep tunnels under the Misty Mountains and there it poisoned his mind for five hundred years, granting him unnatural long life," Gandalf said.

"Did the Ring betray him too?" Arthur asked.

"No, but it did abandon Gollum when rumours of a shadow in the east reached its ears, but something happened the Ring did not intend," said Gandalf. "The Ring was found by the most unlikely creature, a hobbit," he added.

"Frodo found the Ring?" Arthur asked.

"Actually, it was his Uncle Bilbo who had taken on a journey with Thorin Oakenshield's company and I, a little over sixty years ago," replied Gandalf. "It was only until recently that at Bilbo's 111th birthday that I realised the One Ring had been right under my nose the whole time," he said. "And Sauron had been recovering his strength, drawing all manner of dark creatures to him to rebuild his army," he added.

"Hold on there, didn't you say Sauron was dead?" Arthur asked.

"Not entirely," Gandalf shook his head. "When Sauron forged the One Ring, he poured much of his life-force into it, and so long as the Ring endures, Sauron can never truly die," he said.

"Okay… so why hasn't destroyed this Ring then? Shouldn't be too hard to melt it down," Arthur said.

"The One Ring is no ordinary ring, Mr Morgan, even what crafts you or I possess cannot destroy it," replied Gandalf.

"So, what can destroy it then?" asked Arthur and before Gandalf could give an answer, Frodo stirred mumbling.

"Where am I?" the Hobbit asked tiredly.

"You are in the House of Elrond, and it is ten o'clock in the morning, on October the twenty-fourth if you want to know," Gandalf said to the Hobbit.

Frodo opened his eyes and looked at Gandalf. "Gandalf?"

Gandalf smiled at the hobbit and said, "Yes. I am here. And you're lucky to be here. A few more hours and you would have been beyond our aid, but you have some strength in you, young hobbit."

Frodo sat up higher in the bed, wincing and holding the shoulder that had been stabbed before looking at Gandalf. "What happened, Gandalf? Why didn't you meet us?" he asked softly.

"I am sorry, Frodo," Gandalf said regretfully. "I was delayed," he added, his eyes saddened and full of regret.

"Gandalf, what is it?" Frodo asked upon seeing the look in Gandalf's eyes.

"Nothing, Frodo," Gandalf replied quickly.

Frodo then saw Arthur in the room. The Hobbit looked at Gandalf in askance. "Ah, yes. Frodo Baggins, meet Arthur Morgan. He helped you and your friends against the Nazgul at Weathertop. If he hadn't been there, who knows what would've happened?" the Grey Wizard said.

"Howdy. Ya feeling alright?" Arthur greeted the hobbit.

"I am now," replied Frodo. "My thanks for saving me and my kin," he said gratefully.

"Don't mention it, kid," Arthur gave a friendly grin.

"Frodo!" And rushing into the room was Samwise Gamgee.

"Sam!?" Frodo exclaimed in surprise and relief.

"Bless you! You're awake!" Samwise said joyously.

"Sam has hardly left your side since he arrived here," Gandalf mentioned.

"We were that worried about you, weren't we, Mr Gandalf" Samwise said.

"By the skills of Lord Elrond, you're on the mend," Gandalf said to Frodo.

Samwise then looked at Arthur and said to him, "I forgot to say thank you to you, Mr Morgan," he said a little ashamedly.

"Ah, don't mention it, kid," Arthur replied waving a hand in dismissal. "Just remember not to light a cooking fire at night next time, alright?" he said sternly.

Samwise hung his head in embarrassment and said, "Y-Yes, Mr Morgan sir. I'll try to remember that next time."

"I suppose we'll talk later then?" Arthur said to Gandalf who nodded in reply. "Alright then, catch you later." Arthur then left the room and wandered over to the balcony overlooking the valley.

"Jesus… magic rings, elves, dwarves and tiny little people," Arthur muttered to himself quietly. "What's next?" he asked himself sarcastically.

"Guess, I'll just deal with it as I go."

Deciding if he could ask for his weapons back, Arthur then searched for the nearest servant who could give him some directions. After enquiring about his weapons, an accommodating elf told Arthur that his weapons were in the armoury and gave him directions to the armoury. Thanking the elf, Arthur then headed to his destination to reacquire his arsenal lest some unfortunate soul decided to play around with one of them.

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: there! The second chapter of this done and dusted, not much of a chapter I will admit that much, but hopefully in the next chapter we'll get into the meat of the story. I'm thinking that for the start of the next chapter, Arthur takes his guns out to the ranger or what passes for one in Rivendell and more than a few people will be curious about Arthur's guns, then we'll get to the meeting of the races and formation of the Fellowship.**

**And again, I wish to apologise to everyone for copying Mugiwara's intro of his Goblin Slayer/RDR story The Gunslinger. I am deeply sorry about that and I realise now that I should not have taken the easy way out. If it is unanimous that you all want the intro/first chapter rewritten, I will do so. But other than that, what's done is done, and all I can say is that I'm sorry for what I have done and we all move on from there.**

**And that's about the sum total of things, so I'll just leave this here.**

**Oh, and before I forget, for some additions to Arthur's weaponry/arsenal, what weapons would you all like to see Arthur use? He has enough guns and I won't give him any more guns than what he's already got, but in terms of things like melee/close quarter combat, what weapons could Arthur use? Let me know in the reviews or PM them to me, feedback and suggestions are appreciated.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**


	3. A New Gang

**Lord of the Rings: An Outlaw's Redemption**

…

_**Chapter 3: A New Gang**_

Arthur found his guns in the armoury where the elven quartermaster was looking over them with interest.

"Howdy," the outlaw greeted the elf who looked up and replied, "Greetings, stranger. What brings you here?" he asked.

"Just came to collect my guns, 'fore some fool blows their head off with 'em," said Arthur.

"Ah, these are your weapons then?" asked the elf, indicating Arthur's guns with a gesture. Arthur nodded and said, "Yep, those are them. Would you mind if I have 'em back?" he requested.

"Of course, although I must confess as to their capabilities," said the elf. "But I forget my manners, I am Eibear, the quartermaster and armourer of Rivendell," he introduced himself with a bow.

"Arthur Morgan," Arthur said in response. "Ain't you ever seen guns before?" he then asked.

"Admittedly no, I have never heard or seen such weapons as yours before," replied Eibear. "What sort of projectile do these guns fire?" he asked as he looked at the Schofield revolver on the bench.

"Bullets," said Arthur. "Pieces of lead encased in brass which is filled with gunpowder that when ignited shoots the lead outta the barrel at great speed," he explained.

"Interesting, this gunpowder sounds similar to the substance used by the dwarves and hobbits for mining and the creation of fireworks," Eibear remarked.

"You have fireworks here?" Arthur asked in surprise. "Huh, never woulda guessed it," he said with a grin on his lips.

"And judging by how different these guns seem to be from each other, they each have different purposes?" Eibear asked as he picked up the sawed off shotgun and held it in his hand. Arthur gently took the weapon off the elf so as to avoid it going off in his hand and possibly injuring or killing himself.

"Yeah, they each perform differently," Arthur confirmed. "The Schofield there is a sort of sidearm that's good for close range and maybe medium range combat, the Lancaster is good for medium range combat, the Rolling Block rifle is for long distance and sniping and the shotgun here is for close range," he said.

"Interesting, perhaps if you could show me how these weapons perform, I might have a better understanding of what they do?" Eibear asked.

"Sure, why not? You got a shooting range around here?" Arthur asked.

Taking his guns, Arthur was then lead by Eibear to what could pass for a shooting range in Rivendell. There were other elves on the range, practising their archery skills. Some of elves paused to see Arthur with his guns, their gaze curious at seeing such weapons Arthur possessed.

"So, what gun do you wanna see first?" Arthur asked Eibear who thought about it for a moment before replying, "I'd like to see your Rolling Block Rifle first, I'd like to see how far it can shoot."

"Alright then, you might wanna cover your ears, guns are pretty loud," Arthur warned as he unslung his rifle from his back. Dropping down to one knee, cocking the hammer and looking down the scope, Arthur aimed for the target. Inhaling slowly, Arthur aimed at the centre of the target before slowly exhaling, squeezing the trigger as he did so.

A thunderous boom broke the air, causing many elves nearby to clap their hands on their ears and wince in discomfort. A large hole broke through the target a little right of centre. Opening up the chamber, Arthur noted the cartridge popped out halfway before glowing and sliding itself back in.

"By the Valar!" Eibear exclaimed. "Such noise! How can you stand it?" he asked Arthur who gave a laugh and said, "I'm pretty used to it myself, but for first timers it can be pretty disorienting."

"And the target… goodness! There's a hole right through it!" Eibear almost shouted as he looked at the hole in the target.

"Yeah, I've put down quite a bit of game with this rifle," said Arthur said as he got to his feet and slung the rolling block over his back. "What gun do you wanna see next?" he asked Eibear.

"Perhaps your Lancaster," Eibear said in response.

"Alright then."

Taking the repeater from his shoulder, Arthur held it ready and lifted the lever, loading a round in the chamber and pushing back the firing hammer. Aiming down the buckhorn sights, Arthur aimed at a target that was at medium range. With a squeeze of the trigger, another crack of thunder broke the sky, although it was quieter in comparison to the rolling block. Eibear and the other elves had taken the precaution to cover their ears this time, although they still winced slightly. Lifting the lever after the first shot, Arthur fired another round and repeated the process. Each time he lifted the lever of the gun, there was a small flash of light in the chamber. Arthur smiled to himself a little, silently thanking the Stranger for solving his ammunition problem. Firing a couple more rounds at the target, Arthur stopped and slung the repeater back onto his shoulder. The target was riddled with bullet holes that were only a couple of inches away from each other.

"Amazing!" Eibear said in awe as he removed his hands from his ears. The other elves were murmuring their astonishment as well, each of them looking at Arthur's guns in interest. "What about your sidearm? How well does that perform?" he asked in interest.

"Well, watch and find out," Arthur replied as he rested his hand on the grip of his Schofield, picking out the closer targets. Readying himself, Arthur waited a moment before pulling out his Schofield out and holding it at the hip, Arthur pulled the trigger and fanned the hammer with his offhand, rapid booms coming out of the revolver, the cylinder spinning and bullets flying out of the barrel and burying themselves into the target. Once all the rounds had been emptied, Arthur opened the gun up and the cylinder spun as the cartridges glowed, loading with fresh rounds. Closing the gun back up, Arthur made a show of twirling the gun on his finger before holstering it.

"Amazing! I've never such a thing before!" Eibear said in amazement. "What about your shotgun? What can it do?" he asked looking at the last of Arthur's guns in eager interest.

"Well, just to say, that the shotgun doesn't do well at long range. It's more of a close range gun and it does okay at medium range but it's better off at close ranger," replied Arthur as he took the shotgun from his offhand holster and aimed it at one of the close targets. With a loud thunderous boom, the buckshot shot out and left gaping holes in the target. The elves looked at the target, seeing how much damage the weapon did and they had no trouble imagining just how much damage such a weapon would do to someone at that range.

"So, that's what my guns are capable of," Arthur said to the elves, holstering his shotgun. "Anything else you'd like to ask?" he added.

"How good are you with a bow?" one of the elves asked out of curiosity.

"Good enough for things like hunting, and I can put down my share of enemies with one, but it's not my preferred weapon," Arthur admitted honestly.

"Perhaps you could show us?" another elf asked.

"Well since you asked," Arthur replied as he looked at the selection of bows on the nearby rack. Arthur had to admit that these bows made the one he used back home look more like a tree branch than an actual bow. These bows looked more akin to works of art than actual weapons. Picking a bow of relatively simple design, Arthur took a quiver of arrows and moved to stand in front of a target. Taking out an arrow and nocking it to the bowstring, Arthur pulled the string back until it was taut. Breathing in slowly, Arthur focussed his gaze at the target before slowly exhaling and releasing the bowstring. With a twang of the bowstring being released and a sharp hiss of air whistling, the arrow soared through the air and sunk deep into the target, a few inches above the centre.

"Hmm… not bad," Arthur said to himself and he looked at Eibear who said, "You shoot very well, Mr Morgan. Perhaps not as good as an elf, but you did well regardless."

"Yeah, bow's not my favoured weapon, but I can use one if I have to," replied Arthur rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

At that moment, Strider came onto the range, wearing more casual looking clothing with his sword sheathed on his hip. The other elves greeted the man in their language. Strider greeted them back before looking at Arthur and said to him, "I heard those thunders and wondered what the noise was about. I assume you were demonstrating your weapons?" he asked Arthur.

"Yeah, put on a little show for everyone," Arthur joked with a chuckle. "Sorry about the noise, tho'," he said apologetically.

"It's no trouble," Strider said dismissively. "Although I will say that such weapons don't serve well for more quiet engagements," he remarked.

"Yeah, if there were a way to make guns quiet when shooting them, I'd gladly take it," Arthur said. "But I will say that a bow does the job nicely, throwing knives and hatchets do too," he added knowingly.

"That they do," Strider agreed. "Although apart from your knife, I do not see any other form of weapon on you," he said looking over Arthur. "Do you perhaps know how to use a sword?" he enquired.

Arthur made a slight face before saying, "Can't say I've used a sword before," he admitted. "Although I have used things like machetes, but I'm no swordsman. Swords kinda fell outta practice where I'm from when guns were made," he said.

"Indeed," Strider said. "With such weapons, swords must've been made obsolete where you are from," he noted.

"Yeah, but since I'm here, I might as well learn how to use a sword," Arthur said.

"Then perhaps I can teach you," Strider offered.

"Mighty generous of you, Mr Strider," Arthur replied. "So, what's the first lesson?" he asked. Strider smiled before picking out a pair of training swords, both made of hard wood. For the next hour, Strider taught the outlaw what he knew of swordsmanship. Arthur struggled a little against Strider who clearly had greater experience and natural talent, but the outlaw was willing to learn, and he wasn't afraid to fight dirty, something Strider commented on but made no move to correct him. Strider even admitted that in life or death situations, underhanded tricks could save your life, something Arthur wholeheartedly agreed with, having been in plenty of life and death situations.

After the lesson was over, Arthur was panting hard, wiping sweat that was practically pouring off his brow. He had taken his hat off after the first fifteen minutes, so as to avoid it being knocked off and obscuring his vision if it did so. Strider was seated beside Arthur, not sweating or breathing as hard as the outlaw, but he did look a little winded.

"You've done well," the ranger congratulated the outlaw as he took a swig from a water skin. "If you keep it up, you'll be able to fight the best swordsman in no time," he said as he offered the water skin to Arthur who gratefully took a drink from it.

"Well, helps I had a good teacher," replied Arthur as he took another swig and handed the water skin back to Strider. "Forgive me for saying that I hope to avoid close-up fights, tho'," he said.

"Of course," Strider said. "But I fear that some enemies may not give you such reprieve," he warned.

"Yeah, I reckon so. Just have to hope that I can put 'em down 'fore they even get close to me," Arthur said and Strider nodded in agreement.

"Well, since you showed me how to fight with a sword, might as well teach you how to use a gun," Arthur said, standing to his feet.

"You do not have to," Strider said.

"I know, but I want to," Arthur said. "It's only fair since you taught me to use a sword, that I teach you what I know," he added.

"Well, if you insist," Strider replied getting to his feet.

Arthur then showed the ranger how to use guns; they started off with the Schofield with Arthur showing how to hold the weapon, aim it and fire it. The ranger took the instruction well and although he was unused to such a weapon and nearly dropped the gun at the first shot from the sound and the recoil, Arthur gave him some advice on to how to deal with such things.

After learning how to use the Schofield, Arthur then taught Strider how to use the Lancaster, then moving onto the rolling block then using the shotgun. After the lesson, Strider's hands were shaking a little and his ears were a little sore.

"Ergh… I don't know if I'll get used to such noise," the ranger grumbled as he flexed his hands and wrists.

Arthur gave a short laugh and said to the ranger, "Yeah, takes a bit of getting used to. But you did pretty well for a greenhorn," he joked.

"Greenhorn?" Strider repeated the word in confusion.

"Just a word used to describe someone who's pretty new to something where I'm from," Arthur explained. "Don't mean nuthin' by it," he said.

Strider nodded in acceptance. The striding regally in came Lord Elrond and Gandalf.

"Learning something new today, Estel?" Elrond asked Strider who nodded and replied, "Yes, Lord Elrond. Arthur's been teaching me to use his guns, and I've taught him the basics of swordsmanship."

"Did pretty well for a first timer," Arthur put in. "Strider, that is," he quickly said. "Did a lot better than some people I know. He can hit the target for one," he added with a laugh.

"Indeed," Elrond remarked. "Although I must ask you refrain from using your guns for now. The noise may be upsetting to our visitors who are due to arrive soon," he said.

"Visitors?" Arthur asked. "We expectin' company?"

"In good time," Gandalf said to the outlaw. "For now, I think a nice luncheon will do everyone some good, I think," he added helpfully.

"I could do for some vittles," Arthur agreed and Strider agreed as well.

Entering the dining hall, Arthur noted some of the new arrivals. There were some elves and men, but there were some short men with great big beards and wearing heavy armour. "Who are those?" Arthur asked Strider who saw where the cowboy was looking and said, "Those would be Dwarves. Great miners and craftsmen of their mountains halls. Whatever you do, don't mention their height or attempt to shave their beards," he warned with a jesting smile.

"What? Do I look like the kinda feller who'd make fun of someone's height?" Arthur joked back and Strider gave the cowboy a deadpan look that _"Yes."_ Arthur gave a laugh and said, "Naw, you don't gotta worry. I'll make sure I don't make fun of 'em. You have my word on that."

Seating himself at the dining table, Arthur looked at the selection of food and he was a little surprised to see that there wasn't much in terms of meat on the table. Most of the food was vegetables and salads with fruits and berries. There were some meat dishes to be sure, but not as many as Arthur would've liked. Looking at the selection of beverages, Arthur was surprised, although not by much, to see there was only wine, water and fruit juice to drink.

"Huh, shoulda guessed that there'd be no beer of whiskey around here," Arthur muttered to himself. Glancing over at the dwarves, Arthur saw some bottles and flasks being passed among them; clearly they didn't think much of the wine the elves offered. Taking a chance, Arthur got up from his seat and walked over to the dwarves.

"Howdy there, friends," Arthur greeted them. The dwarves looked at Arthur suspiciously and one of them with a great white beard and hair spoke.

"Greetings there, friend. What brings you over here?" he asked, his beady little eyes narrowing at Arthur in suspicion.

"Oh, just thought I'd introduce myself is all, if that's alright with you," replied Arthur. "Arthur Morgan," he then said sticking out a hand to shake. The white haired dwarf grunted before shaking Arthur's hand.

"Gloin," the dwarf said. "These are my kin and this is my wee lad, Gimli," he introduced the other dwarves and presented what Arthur assumed was the dwarf's son. Gimli had a younger appearance but in looked middle-aged in comparison to Arthur with a full beard of reddish brown hair and dark beady eyes.

"So, what brings you fellers to this neck of the woods?" Arthur asked Gloin who replied, "We came as representatives of our people, to decide what is to be done with the One Ring," he said.

"Ah, yeah, heard about that," Arthur mused scratching his chin, feeling the growing bristles. "Makes sense everyone would come together to do sumthin' about it," he added thoughtfully.

"What brings you to Rivendell, Arthur Morgan?" Gimli asked.

"Ah, well, I got caught up in this mess when I helped some Hobbits with some nasty business involving them, whaddya call 'em, Ringwraiths? Anyway, I didn't have nuthin' better to do, so I thought I might as well lend a hand," replied Arthur.

"Good a reason as any," commented one of the dwarves.

"What manner of weapons are those, laddie?" Gimli asked looking at Arthur's guns in interest. "I've not seen such weapons before," he said.

"Oh, these? These are guns, they're kinda unique 'round these parts," said Arthur. "I won't show what they can do right this minute, but I can tell ya a little about 'em," he added.

"Well, sit yerself down and let's talk!" Gloin said jovially and Arthur took a seat at the dwarves' table and was handed a tankard of brown ale and the cowboy began to explain what he knew about guns. The dwarves listened with great interest and asked many questions and Arthur mentioned that the substance used in the bullets was very much similar to the explosive powder they used for mining. One of the other dwarves began scribbling down notes on a piece of parchment, taking in everything Arthur said. As the meal progressed, some elven musicians began to play their instruments. Soft lilting music floated through the air; some of the dwarves made faces at the music and Arthur asked them, "Don't like the music?"

"Nay, music like this is not what we dwarves like," Gloin replied. "Pansy music is what it is!" he said.

"Well, can't say this is my kinda music, but I know a couple of songs where I'm from," Arthur said taking a sip of ale.

"Oh, do ye now? Well go on then, let's hear a song from your land," Gimli encouraged.

"Alright then, gimme a moment," Arthur said taking another sip of ale, smacking his lips before launching into a song from home.

"_Oh, Mollie, Oh, Mollie, It's for your sake alone~,"_

_That I leave old parents, my house and my home;"_

"_My love for you, it has caused me to roam;"_

"_I'm a rabble rouser and Dixie's my home."_

The dwarves began to clap and cheer as Arthur sang the song. The other patrons of the dining hall began to look and listen in on the song. Some of the men were amused by the song, while the elves looked confused and even a little annoyed as Arthur sang.

"_Jack o'Diamonds, Jack o'Diamonds, I know you of old:"_

"_You robbed my poor pockets of silver and gold;"_

"_O Whiskey, you villain; you've been my downfall;"_

"_You've kicked me, you've cuffed me and caused me to brawl."_

The dwarves began singing along with Arthur and some of the men did as well. Merry and Pippin who were seated nearby began laughing and singing along with the song as well.

"_My foot's in a stirrup, my bridle's in my hand;"_

"_I'm leavin' sweet Mollie, the fairest in the land."_

"_Her parents don't like me, they say I'm too poor;"_

"_They say I am unworthy to enter her door."_

"_They say I drink whiskey, my money's my own;"_

"_And them that don't like me can leave me alone."_

"_I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry;"_

"_And when I get thirsty, I'll lay down and cry."_

The dwarves then began to jig along to the song, dancing around in circles, kicking up their heels and feet to the song and Merry and Pippin joined in with them. Frodo and Samwise watched in exasperation and amusement. Elrond watched with a slight note of disapproval in his eyes, but he made no move to stop it. Strider had a small grin on his face as he watched Arthur sing the song and the dwarves and two hobbits dance.

"_It's beefsteak when I'm hungry;"_

"_And whiskey when I'm dry;"_

"_Greenbacks when I'm hard up;"_

"_And hell when I die."_

"_Rye whiskey, rye whiskey;"_

"_Rye whiskey I cry;"_

"_If I don't get rye whiskey;"_

"_I surely will die."_

"_Oh, baby, oh, baby, I've told you before;"_

"_Do make me a pallet, I'll lie on the floor."_

Gandalf had a look of amusement on his face and was chuckling the whole time as Arthur and the dwarves sang the song.

"_I've rambled and trambled, this wide world around;"_

"_Raising hell with the gang, that's where I'm bound;"_

"_It's with these gunslingers, dear Mollie, I'll roam;"_

"_I'm a rabble rouser, and Dixie's my home."_

"_If the ocean were whiskey;"_

"_And I were a duck; (Quack, quack),"_

"_I'd dive to the bottom;"_

"_And get one sweet sup;"_

Some of the dwarves were laughing and some of the men had grins of amusement on their lips. One of the elves had a slight grin pulling at his lips but he quickly wiped it off his face before one of the other elves noticed.

"_But the ocean ain't whiskey;"_

"_And I ain't no duck;"_

"_So I'll play Jack o' Diamonds and then we'll get drunk;"_

"_Oh, baby, oh baby, I've told you before;"_

"_Do me make a pallet, and I'll lie on the floor~"_

The dwarves cheered raucously and some of the men clapped their appreciation as well.

"You've a fine singing voice, Mr Morgan!" Pippin said to Arthur who nodded and said to the Hobbit. "Thank ye kindly," he said gratefully.

"I agree with the little one, you'd make a fine bard if you chose to," Gimli said. "Know any other ditties?" he asked eagerly.

"I do, but they ain't fit for present company," Arthur laughed glancing at the elves who had looks of disapproval. "They can wait til another time," he said as he took a swig of ale and burped a little.

"Yes, I feel we must turn in for the night," Elrond called out in a distant lordly voice. "We have much to discuss on the morrow, and we'd do better with clear heads," he said. Arthur nodded reluctantly and stood from his seat.

"Thank you kindly, gents," Arthur said to the dwarven delegation. "Nice speaking with you, I'll catch you all later," he added before ambling off, a little unsteadily but he found his way to his room where set his guns by his bed and collapsed on top of the mattress and feel asleep.

…

The next morning, Arthur woke up feeling groggy and hungover. Yawning slightly and settling into the comfortable bed, Arthur stared up at the ceiling for a while, thinking about all that he had been through in the last couple of days. He wondered if John had made it out and back to his family. He also wondered what had happened to Sadie or Charles, if they were alright. He also wondered what had happened to Pearson, Mary-Beth, Tilly, Karen, Trelawney and Uncle. Arthur could only hope that they were alright and keeping out of the Pinkertons' reach and not getting into or causing trouble.

Sighing to himself, Arthur sat up on the bed and rubbed his face, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Standing up, Arthur slung his guns back on and left the room to head to the dining hall and have some breakfast. Hopefully they served something he could actually eat.

Making it to the dining hall, Arthur was greeted by the dwarven delegations who bade him to sit with them which Arthur did so graciously.

"How are ye feeling, laddie?" Gimli asked as he sat next to Arthur. "Not too sore from last night?" he joked.

Arthur laughed and replied, "Ah, about as well as you'd expect from last night. Just hope they serve I can actually eat than what they served last night," he said.

"Aye, those prissy elves don't know the joys of fire roasted meats and good hearty malt beer," Gimli said. "They'd rather eat rabbit food!" he added scornfully.

"Well, I ain't exactly against having vegetables, but I do like a nice steak or bit of bacon," said Arthur.

"A man after me own heart!" Gloin said in approval. "Hopefully this meeting won't take too long and we can decide what to do about that blasted ring," he then said.

"Hopefully," Arthur said in agreement. He then noticed a long thin package near Gloin. "What's that ya got there?" he asked the dwarf, looking at the package.

"Ah, this? Well, this sort of a gift to the elves, or more us returning an item to them," replied Gloin as he held up the package.

"Well, forgive me for bein' curious, but what is it?" Arthur enquired.

"This here is an elven forged blade," said Gloin. "Forged in Gondolin by the high elves of the first age; a famous blade named Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver," he explained.

"Famous for killing goblins, huh? Must be a pretty good sword then," Arthur commented.

"Aye, it is a good blade, it was lost for a time but Thorin Oakenshield's company and I discovered this blade and another lying in a troll hoard," said Gloin. "How it came to be there, we do not know," he added shrugging his shoulders.

"So, why give it back to the elves?" Arthur asked curious to know.

"Well, the time of the elves is over, they are leaving these shores for the West, the Undying Lands," replied Gloin. "We thought it would be a show of good will to return Orcrist to them and their kin," he said.

"Mighty generous of you," said Arthur. "Would you mind if I had a look?" he asked Gloin who nodded in acceptance and began to unwrap the packaging of the blade. Arthur gave a low whistle of appreciation as he gazed upon the elven weapon. The hilt was made from the fang of some great beast with a metal pommel just near the tip of the fang. The blade was a straight single edge with some runes running along the flat and the crossguard jutted out. The blade almost seemed to shine with a cold faint blue light.

"Now, that is a work of art," Arthur stated. "Never seen anything so pretty," he said jestingly.

"Aye, it may look pretty, but it cuts orcs well," Gloin said before rewrapping the sword. "We'll present this blade to Lord Elrond after the meeting is over," he added.

"Speaking of which, when is it about to start?" Arthur asked.

"Soon," said Gloin. "After breakfast and some other things have been seen to, the meeting will happen," he added. "But for now, we eat and make merry!" he declared as breakfast was served.

After breakfast was served, Arthur wandered around and found himself in the library. Perusing some of the books but putting some of them away due to them being in a different language, Arthur found a mural depicting a man in armour swinging a broken sword against a larger almost terrifying figure that had its hand stretched out upon which gleamed a golden ring. Gazing at the picture, Arthur found an inscription that was luckily in English.

"The defeat of Sauron by Isildur with Narsil," Arthur read the inscription. "Huh, and that must be the One Ring everybody's been talkin' about," he said to himself as he looked at the ring on Sauron's finger. "So much trouble over a little piece of jewellery?" he asked himself in disbelief. Huffing, Arthur found a display of a broken sword and its broken pieces on a shrine.

"Huh, so this must be that sword that cut the ring from Sauron," Arthur muttered as he picked up the hilt. Feeling the weight of it, Arthur said, "Must've been a good blade, even when it was broken."

"Indeed it was," said a voice. Arthur almost dropped the sword in surprise and looked to see Arwen entering the library. "Forgive me, I did not mean to startle you," the daughter of Elrond said softly.

"Eh, don't worry about it, lil' lady," Arthur replied his heart hammering in his chest. "Didn't expect to see anyone in here, is all," he said, placing the broken sword back onto its shrine. "So, this was the sword that cut the ring from Sauron?" he asked Arwen.

"Indeed it was," replied Arwen. "The sword Narsil, it belonged to Isildur's father Elendil, king of Numénor and Gondor, a great warrior and leader," she said.

"But his son wasn't I take it, or at least that's what I heard," Arthur said.

Arwen nodded sadly and said, "Yes. Isildur was seduced and corrupted by the power of the Ring and took it for his own instead of destroying it," she said with sadness in her voice.

"Did… Isildur leave any kin behind? Someone to carry on his name?" Arthur asked a little unsure if he should ask.

"He did, but his last remaining descendant chose exile," replied Arwen sombrely.

"I take it you know the feller then?" Arthur asked.

Arwen nodded, smiling softly at the cowboy and replied, "I do, but he wishes to remain hidden for his own safety."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," Arthur said quickly.

"it is alright, Mr Morgan, you did not intend any harm by asking," Arwen reassured him. "But I must profess to be curious about you," she then said. "Your garb and accent are clearly foreign, and your weapons strange and otherworldly. Who are you before coming here?" she asked gently.

Arthur sighed before saying, "That's… a bigger question then you might think," he said reluctantly, feeling a little unsure if he should divulge his life story with Arwen like he did with Gandalf. He had no way of knowing if Arwen would react to his days as a killer and thief.

"Of course, I don't mean to pry. I am simply curious about you, as is everyone in Rivendell," said Arwen. "The council will be starting soon, so you may wish to find a seat if you wish to attend," she added.

"Thank you, ma'am, I will," replied Arthur as he then left the library and headed to the meeting area where people were beginning to take their seats. Seeing an empty seat near Frodo, Arthur sat next to the hobbit and spoke to him, "You doing okay there?" the cowboy asked the hobbit. "Not feeling nervous?"

"A little," Frodo confessed.

"You'll do fine, kid," Arthur assured him. "This shouldn't take too long anyway," he said confidently.

Once everyone had seated themselves, Lord Elrond looked at the assembled representatives before speaking.

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned to answer the threat of Mordor," the elven lord declared and a slight ripple of muttering befell the representatives. "Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it," he said. "You will unite, or you will fall."

"Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom," said Elrond before looking at Frodo. "Bring fort the Ring, Frodo." Frodo stood from his seat, walking towards the stone pedestal in the centre and placed on it a simple golden band.

Then one man with auburn hair and wearing finery spoke, "So it is true," he said in a hushed voice.

Arthur looked at the ring and he then heard a voice whisper in his head.

"_Arthurrr…"_

Shaking his head and looking around to see where the voice had come from, but seeing no-one else nearby, Arthur looked back at the ring.

"The Doom of Men," said one of the human representatives quietly but loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Then the auburn haired man stood from his seat and spoke, "In a dream, I saw the Eastern Sky grow dark. But in the West a pale light lingered," he said slowly. "A voice was crying: Your doom is near at hand." He then began to reach for the ring. "Isildur's Bane is found," he muttered as he walked slowly towards the ring, his hand reaching out to touch it. Arthur put a hand to his revolver, ready to draw it at a moment's notice; he did not wish to kill the man, but if the fool tried to make off with the ring, he plug the man full of holes before he'd get even one finger on it.

Elrond stood from his seat. "Boromir!" he said in a commanding voice, as if to snap the man out of what he was doing, but the man paid him no heed.

Then a harsh dark chanting made itself heard in Arthur's head, causing him to clutch his head in pain. Then Gandalf rose from his seat, speaking in a harsh guttural tongue, causing the sky to darken as he chanted those strange words. Thunder rumbled in the sky as the Grey Pilgrim chanted.

The chanting inside Arthur's head died away and everyone sat back in their seats, horrified, Boromir among them. Elrond glared at Gandalf and rebuked him, "Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris!"

"I do not ask for your pardon, Lord Elrond," Gandalf replied, his voice hoarse and raspy. "For the Black Speech may yet be heard in all corners of the West! The Ring is altogether evil!" he said as he sat back in his seat. But then the man known as Boromir spoke in rising excitement.

"It is a gift! A gift to the foes of Mordor!" he declared. Arthur looked at the man in disbelief, brief memories of Dutch and Micah flitting through his mind; of Dutch's growing mania and Micah's twisted manipulations. Arthur was now sorely tempted to pull out his revolver and shoot the man in the head. "Why not use this Ring?" Boromir asked the council.

Rising from his seat, Boromir said, "long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people, are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the Enemy! Let us use it against him!"

Stride then spoke up. "You cannot wield it. None of us can." He said "The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master!" he stated.

"And what would a ranger know of this matter?" Boromir asked the ranger condescendingly.

"A lot more than you it seems," Arthur commented loudly. Boromir glared at Arthur and made to bite out some scathing retort, when one of the elves, one with long blonde hair and grey-blue eyes spoke.

"He is no mere ranger! He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn! You owe him your allegiance!" the elf said sternly.

Boromir looked at Strider in surprise and Arthur looked at the ranger in surprise too. "Aragorn? This… is Isildur's heir?" Boromir asked.

Arthur looked at Strider, now Aragorn, in surprise. But he then thought about it and suddenly understood why Aragorn kept his identity hidden; he honestly couldn't blame the man for wanting to distance himself from his ancestor and his failure in destroying the One Ring.

"And heir to the throne of Gondor!" the elf said.

Aragorn looked at the elf and spoke in elvish to him who sat back down in his seat. Boromir looked at the elf and said to him, "Gondor has no king," he said walking back to his seat and looked at Aragorn. "Gondor needs no king!" he declared.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Gandalf spoke. "Aragorn is right. We cannot use the Ring!" he said.

"Then we have but one choice," Elrond said firmly. "The Ring must be destroyed!"

Then Gimli snorted and stood up from his chair. "Then what are we waiting for?" he asked as he picked up his axe and strode forward and with a roar, he swung his axe down onto the Ring before anyone could stop him. A small explosion was heard and the blade of the axe broke into piece, the force throwing Gimli onto his back. Arthur looked to see if the Ring was destroyed or damaged, but to his surprise, the Ring was unblemished and seemed to be whispering in that dark tongue.

"That's one strong little ring," Arthur said to himself and he looked at Frodo who was clutching his injured shoulder in pain. "You okay, kid?" Arthur asked the hobbit in concern. Frodo nodded in response.

"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli son of Gloin, by any craft we here possess," Elrond said to Gimli who was being helped to his feet by his father and fellow dwarves. "The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came!" he stated.

"One of you must do this."

Arthur noted that everyone had uneasy looks of apprehension on their faces. No-one seemed keen on doing this task. Boromir then spoke.

"One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs," he said. "There is an evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, ash and dust! The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly! He declared.

Then the elf who revealed Aragorn's identity stood from his seat and spoke harshly. "Have you heard nothing Elrond has said?! The Ring must be destroyed!" he shouted.

Gimli leapt from his seat. "And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?!" he demanded accusingly.

"And if we fail, what then?!" Boromir cried. "What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?!" he yelled.

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf!" Gimli bellowed. With that, the other elves, dwarves and men leapt from their chairs and began yelling and arguing over the Ring. Arthur stared in disbelief. Aragorn had a look of tired annoyance on his face, Gandalf was shaking his head at the stupidity of it and Elrond held his head in his hand. Frodo sat there stunned by the sudden outbreak of arguing.

"NEVER TRUST AN ELF!" Gimli roared.

"Some things never change," Arthur muttered himself cynically, having witnessed back home in the gang and among other people, whether it be matters of race or votes for women. And here it seemed no better.

Gandalf stood from his seat and spoke in a rising voice. "Do you not understand that while we bicker amongst ourselves, Sauron's power grows?!" the Grey Pilgrim yelled. "None can escape it! You'll all be destroyed!" he shouted.

Frodo had been staring at the Ring, a look of unease on his face before he stood from his seat and shouted, "I will take it!" But no-one seemed to hear him, except Arthur who drew his revolver and fired a shot in the air. The loud boom broke through the arguing, causing everyone to look at Arthur who spun the revolver on his finger before holstering it and he said.

"If y'all are done measuring your dicks, I'd like to hear what the kid has to say," the cowboy said before looking at Frodo and said to him, "Floor's yours."

Everyone looked at the Hobbit who said, "I will take the Ring to Mordor." Everyone looked at him in disbelief who fidgeted a little and said, "Though… I do not know the way," he admitted.

Gandalf nodded his head and said, "I will help you bear this burden Frodo Baggins, for as long as it is yours to bear." Placing a comforting hand on Frodo's shoulder, Gandalf stood beside the Hobbit.

Aragorn stood from his chair and said, "If by my life or death, I can protect you I will." Walking over to kneel before Frodo, the Heir to Gondor said, "You have my sword!"

"And you have my bow!" said the elf moving to stand beside Frodo.

"And my axe!" Gimli declared. Gimli and the elf glared at each other.

Arthur looked at Frodo. "So, you're gonna risk your life and limb on a journey that will most likely kill you, all to save these dumb fools?" he asked the Hobbit, casting a glance at everyone.

"I've carried the Ring thus far," said Frodo. "A little more will not kill me," he added with determination in his voice.

"Maybe, maybe not," Arthur said. "But in any case, looks like you'll need help and since I got nothin' better to do, then I'll help however I can," he added before looking at Elrond asked, "If that's alright by you, o' course?"

Elrond nodded in reply, showing he had no problem with this. Boromir stared at Arthur in disbelief and shouted, "Have you all lost your wits?! Just who is this man?!" he demanded, pointing at Arthur. "This man here, for all we know, could be a spy of Sauron!" he shouted.

"He is not, Boromir," Aragorn said speaking in Arthur's defense. "Arthur helped fight off the Nazgul, preventing them from taking the Ring. He is a good man," he stated.

"Besides, if anyone here is a spy for Sauron, I'd say it's you since you seemed awfully keen on getting near that Ring," Arthur said cuttingly. A tic appeared on Boromir's brow and his hands curled into fists and shook with suppressed anger.

"I wouldn't try anything, partner," Arthur warned the man, his hand touching his revolver. "I've put down more people then you can claim to have put down, so don't even think about it!" he threatened.

Glancing around him, Boromir saw everyone looking at him warily before he sighed, relaxing slightly but not before saying to Arthur, "Very well, but if you so much as betray anyone, I will cut off you head myself!"

"I'd like to see you try," Arthur retorted. Gandalf placed a hand on Arthur's back and shook his head slightly as if asking or telling Arthur not to make this any worse.

"If this is indeed the will of the council," Boromir said slowly. "Then Gondor will see it done," he promised.

Then suddenly a shout came from behind a bush and running out was Samwise Gamgee. "Mister Frodo's going nowhere without me!" the Hobbit blurted out.

Elrond had an amused look on his face as he said, "No indeed. It is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."

"Eavesdropping were we?" Arthur asked the Hobbit who had a guilty smile on his face.

"Hey! We're coming too!" Merry and Pippin ran out from behind some pillars. "You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!" the Took hobbit declared as he and Pippin stood beside Frodo.

"Anyway you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission… quest… thing!" Pippin said.

"My god, we're doomed," Arthur grunted making Pippin wince a little.

Elrond looked at the group. "Ten companions… so be it, you shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!" he declared.

"Great!" Pippin said in relief. "Where are we going?" he asked stupidly.

"Yep, we're doomed!"

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: There! The longest chapter of this story so far, and I hope it made the grade and some bits of it were original and not just following the movies/books. So the next chapter we'll see the beginning of the Fellowship journeying out from Rivendell to Mordor and you know how it goes if you've watched the movies or read the books, but if you haven't and are new to Lord of the Rings/Tolkien, well I won't say anything as I want to keep it a surprise. But let's be honest here, we've all seen the movies so we obviously know what happens next, but hopefully I will try to put in some more original content in the journey such as Arthur teaching the Hobbits what he knows and maybe some confrontations between Arthur and Boromir because I think Boromir is somewhat similar to Dutch Van der Linde in the growing mania/craziness and Arthur having seen how insane Dutch became can see that happening in Boromir and would do his best to stop him from going overboard.**

**In others, I recently submitted this story to the Fan Ramen podcast. If you are not familiar with Fan Ramen, it is a podcast of two professional voice actors and a music/sound effects foley who read your fanfiction out loud for everyone to hear. Now this is NOT a definite thing, I submitted my story to them and they said they'd consider it but they do have other projects/fanfics coming up, so don't take this as a certainty. However I am hopeful that this fic will be in the Fan Ramen podcast, but I'm not going to put all my eggs in one basket at this stage. It's up to the Fan Ramen people to decide if they want to read this fic for everyone or not.**

**And that's about the sum total of things, so I'll just leave this here and I'll catch you all in the next one.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**


	4. The Journey Begins

**Lord of the Rings: An Outlaw's Redemption**

…

_Chapter 4: The Journey Begins_

Arthur awoke early and looked out the window. The tangerine fingers of sunlight were slowly creeping over the horizon, indicating the dawn of a new day. And today was different as the quest to destroy the One Ring was beginning. Arthur had spent most of the night preparing what he needed for the journey. Eibear had gladly given the cowboy some throwing knives and an elven bow with a quiver of arrows, along with some cleaning oil for his guns. The Dwarves had gifted Arthur a well-made dwarven hatchet that had a glistening bearded blade with a short blunt spike on the back. Arthur also stocked up on some medicines and tonics in case there were any injuries or illnesses to be gained during the quest. He also procured a flask of dwarven ale and a pouch of tobacco for some relaxation purposes. Besides that, Arthur had been given some gifts by Lord Elrond, such as a shirt of mail to wear underneath his jacket and astoundingly, the Elf lord had bequeathed the sword the Dwarves had returned to the elves; Orcrist the Goblin Cleaver.

Arthur had tried to refuse the blade, saying he wasn't a trained swordsman, not like Aragorn or Boromir, but Lord Elrond had been insistent upon it. After some debate back and forth, Arthur reluctantly agreed to take Orcrist to use. The cowboy had also taken the time to read some of the maps of Middle-Earth to get an idea of their route and just how long it would take to reach their destination. And from the looks of it, they had quite a ways to go from Rivendell to Mordor, and no doubt Sauron would send his forces to recover his ring.

Getting up from the bed and sighing to himself, thinking to himself that it would be a good while before he slept in a bed again, Arthur dressed himself before gathering his equipment, making sure to leave nothing behind.

Leaving his room and walking down the corridors to reach the meeting point where everyone would gather to begin the journey, Arthur rubbed his eyes clear of sleep and adjusted his hat and rolled his shoulders to try and wake himself up more. Reaching the meeting point, Arthur found some of the Fellowship already there. Legolas looked bright and alert, with his bow in his hands, a quiver of arrows on his back and a pair of long curved knives on his back as well. Three of the hobbits, Merry, Pippin and Sam were there, each of them looking as though they were still half asleep, the first two more so due to spending the night previous drinking and smoking. Well, those two would be in for a rude awakening, and Arthur would make sure they learned and remembered it. The dwarf Gimli was leaning against the archway, his axe resting in his hands, the pommel touching the ground. Boromir was adjusting the sword that was sheathed by his side; catching each other's eye, Arthur and Boromir glared at each other momentarily.

Pippin suddenly noticed the cowboy standing there and greeted him. "G'morning, Mister Morgan, sir," he said in a sleepy voice.

"Morning to ya," Arthur replied to the Hobbit. "Still asleep there?" he asked.

"We're awake! Just not used to waking up this early," Pippin protested.

"Well, you better get used to it," Arthur said to him sternly. "This ain't fun and games. This is serious business." Looking around, Arthur did not see Aragorn, Frodo or Gandalf anywhere, and he asked, "Where're the others?"

Sam spoke up. "Mister Frodo's visiting his Uncle Bilbo, saying his goodbyes. Gandalf's speaking with Lord Elrond. I don't know about Strider," he said shrugging his shoulders. Arthur nodded his head before walking over to a nearby tree and leaned against, digging out from his satchel some tobacco and papers to roll himself a cigarette. Using one of the few matches he had on him, Arthur lit the end and breathed in a lungful of tobacco smoke before exhaling it out in a stream of grey vapour. Sticking the end between his teeth, Arthur looked at the people he would be travelling with and what he had learnt about them.

Legolas was the son of Thranduil, the Elf King of Mirkwood Forest, thus making him a prince. Mirkwood also had its share of dangers so the elves of the woodland realm were fierce warriors and exceptional archers, and Legolas was one of their best. Elves also had excellent hearing and keen eyesight that was far superior to that of men, and Legolas was no exception to the rule.

The dwarf Gimli was a hardy warrior who favoured an axe to fight with and was skilled in the use of such a weapon. Besides the long-axe he had, Gimli also possessed a throwing axe should he need it, although Arthur could tell that the stout dwarf preferred close-up fights.

Boromir was the eldest son of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, and was a veteran of combat having fought the forces of Mordor for quite some time and held the rank of Captain of the White Tower and was heir to the Stewardship of Gondor. And from what Arthur gathered during the Council meeting, Boromir was desperate to save his people, given how he vocalised that Gondor be given the Ring to use against Sauron. Arthur could understand the man's desire to save his people, much like how Eagle Flies wanted his people to have a better life, but using a weapon of the Enemy that would answer to no-one save its master/creator and had corrupted people who tried to use it before was only inviting trouble.

Aragorn was something of a mystery for Arthur. Aragorn was a ranger of the North, a people who roamed the wilds, fighting fierce beasts who would dare encroach on settlements and fought bandits and the like. But Arthur had a good judge of character to tell that Aragorn was a fierce warrior and could be a reliable ally in a fight. And given that the Ranger was also the Heir to Gondor added to that, but if the conversation with Arwen yesterday told Arthur anything, it was that Aragorn had chosen exile rather than claim his inheritance.

After a few minutes, Frodo and Aragorn joined the group. "There they are!" Arthur said with a smile, stubbing his cigarette out with his boot. "Thought we'd have to leave without ya," he joked.

Aragorn nodded with a slight grin on his lips. Frodo looked troubled by something and Arthur wanted to ask the Ringbearer what the matter was, when Gandalf and Elrond entered. Gandalf was wearing an almost stereotypical wizard's hat along with a long wood staff with a crystal set into it, and a sword sheathed by his side. Aragorn wore his ranger outfit and had a longbow and longsword as his weapons. Frodo possessed a sword that looked to be of finer make than his friends' own blades. Soon the Fellowship prepared to leave Rivendell. As they prepared to leave, the elves of Rivendell came to bid farewell to them. Elrond then spoke.

"The Ringbearer is setting out on the quest to Mount Doom. On you who travel with him, no oath or bond laid, to go further than you will," the elven lord said. "Farewell. Hold to your purpose and may the blessings of Elves, Men and all free folk go with you."

"The Fellowship awaits the Ringbearer," Gandalf announced. Looking nervous and uncertain, Frodo began walking past the group and Gandalf walked beside him and the rest began to follow. Arthur took note of how Aragorn lingered behind and stared back. Arthur then saw Arwen looking at Aragorn, her expression one of sorrow. Aragorn gave a slight smile and nodded to her. The Ranger then saw Arthur who nodded and they then left catching up the Fellowship quickly.

The next few days were spent traversing over hill and dale, through forests, open plains and hillsides. The nights were spent around small campfires, sharing their provisions. Arthur was quickly surprised to see the vast appetite of the Hobbits, and he was told by Gandalf and Aragorn that the average hobbit ate at least several times a day. While Frodo showed some moderation, as did Sam to a degree, Merry and Pippin complained a little at the lack of usual number of meals. Arthur had turned around to them and said to the two hobbits that they couldn't stop for seven meals a day when time was of the essence, and stopping for even something as elevenses may risk them getting caught by the enemy who would no doubt be looking for them. Thoroughly chastised, Merry and Pippin fell in line and did not complain. But in contrast, they ate large meals to make up for it which Arthur sighing and shaking his head; he could only hope that they did not run out of food because of two gluttonous hobbits.

Arthur also asked Gandalf of the route they were taking, and Gandalf had told him, "We must hold this course west of the Misty Mountains for forty days. If our luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will be open to us. From there, our road turns east to Mordor," he said to Arthur.

A few days later, the group stopped to rest on an outstretched arm of the mountains. Sam made a small fire and was cooking some sausages and other food on his cast iron skillet over the crackling flames. Serving some of the food onto tin plates, Sam handed one plate to Frodo as they sat and watched Merry and Pippin learn sword fencing from Boromir and Aragorn. Arthur had sat down to watch the sparring. Gandalf sat higher up on a ledge, watching over the group while Gimli sat with him and Legolas stood watch, scanning the horizon.

Boromir clashed his sword against Pippin's. "Two, one, five!" the Gondorian man called out each strike against Pippin's sword. "Good. Very good," he said.

"You look good, Pippin," Merry said to his friend.

"Thanks!"

"Faster!" Boromir ordered getting Pippin's attention back.

"Move your feet," Aragorn advised Pippin. Arthur called out his own encouragement.

"Don't take yer eye off him. And don't be afraid to fight dirty if ya have to," the cowboy said.

Gimli meanwhile was speaking with Gandalf. "You know, if anyone were to ask my opinion, which I note they're not, I'd say we were taking the long way around," the dwarf stated. "Gandalf, we could pass through the mines of Moria," he said with a reverence and hopefulness in his dark eyes. "My cousin, Balin, would give us a royal welcome!" he added.

"No, Gimli," Gandalf replied sternly as he took his pipe out from his mouth to look at the dwarf. "I would not take the road through Moria, unless I had no other choice," he declared.

"Mister Morgan, sir?" Sam said to Arthur, getting his attention. "Do you mind if I asked a couple of questions?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, sure, what'chu wanna know?" replied Arthur.

"Where is it you come from?"

"Ah, well, I come from a place far away from here, a world away even," Arthur said. "Coming here was… a one-way trip for me," he added uneasily.

"You are from another land?" Frodo asked. "What is it like?"

"Well, it's different from what you're used to, that's for sure," said Arthur scratching the back of his neck. "We don't have things like elves, dwarves, hobbits or anything like that," he added.

"Truly?" Aragorn asked.

"Yeah, stuff like that's fairy tales fer kids to read," replied Arthur. A slightly nostalgic looked crossed over the cowboy's face as he said, "Little Jack loved to read stories about that sorta stuff with Abigail."

"Little Jack and Abigail? Who were they?" Sam asked.

A slightly pained smile was on Arthur's face as he said, "Friends, hell, they were family of mine. Abigail was the… well, I don't know if she'd be called a wife, but she was the mother of Jack and John's girl."

"John? Who was he?" Frodo asked.

"John? He… heh, he was a goddamn idiot, but he was my brother. He deserved a better life than what we led," Arthur said bitterly.

"What life did you lead?" Boromir asked as he paused sparring with Merry and Pippin.

"Well, let's just say I got a certain skillset that's only good for a few things," Arthur replied cryptically. "And more often than not, that skillset ain't good for much," he then said with a shake of his head as if trying to shut out the memories of the not so distant past.

Aragorn looked at Arthur for a moment before nodding his head in understanding.

"What skillset do you have?" Boromir asked, his grip on his sword tight.

"A few things. Hunting, fighting, tracking, and riding. To name a few," Arthur replied, not wanting to share everything with the Fellowship.

"So you're like Strider?" Sam asked. "Because that's what rangers do, isn't it?" he added.

"Maybe, but not entirely," said Arthur. "Depends on what I use those skills for," he added.

"Tracking… what would you typically track?" Boromir asked.

"Animals, wanted criminals, that sort of thing," replied Arthur, not quite telling a lie because it was true he could track animals and wanted criminals, but he also tracked down those who owed money to the gang for Herr Strauss and extracted the money by whatever means at hand, typically with his fists to their faces.

"And what of your weapons?" Boromir asked indicating Arthur's guns. "I've not seen such weapons before," he remarked.

"Oh, these? Pretty common where I'm from," replied Arthur. "In fact, guns sorta replaced the stuff you fellers often use," he said.

"Indeed," Aragorn said. "They seem useful, but they aren't suited for quiet engagements," he commented.

"Naw, they ain't," Arthur conceded with a chuckle. "But luckily, I can use stuff for a quiet approach," he said modestly.

"Can you?" Boromir asked with a condescending smile. "How good are you with a sword?" he enquired.

"Well, I ain't a swordsman like you or Aragorn, but I follow the basis of sticking 'em with the pointy end," replied Arthur with a humourless chuckle.

"Perhaps you'd like some lessons?" Boromir offered. "Or are you too afraid to face your better?" he asked with a taunting look in his eyes. Arthur fixed the man with a flat look before saying, "Well, since you so kindly offered."

Standing from his seat, Arthur drew Orcrist, getting a feel for the weight and handling of the elf blade, holding it in a low stance to the side. Boromir had an amused look on his lips as he adopted what Arthur would say was akin to a fencer's pose, the blade pointed straight out towards him. After a moment of staring each other down, Boromir thrust the tip of his sword forward with one swift movement. Arthur avoided the lunge and swung his own blade at Boromir who casually deflected the strike with a sneer. Arthur grunted, feeling a little out of his element against a more trained swordsman, but like he said to Merry and Pippin earlier, don't be afraid to fight dirty.

Boromir almost lazily swung his sword at Arthur who ducked under the swing, before getting under the man's guard and with his free hand, he socked Boromir in the jaw with a light punch. Boromir gave a grunt of pain and stumbled back slightly, nursing his slightly bruised jaw with one hand, a look of surprise and anger on his face. Arthur shot him a shit-eating grin and held Orcrist ready. Aragorn had a slightly amused look in his eyes as though he had expected such a tactic from the cowboy. Boromir shrugged off the pain before making faster swings at Arthur with his sword. Arthur managed to avoid the strikes and swung his own sword at Boromir who parried aside the strike before shoving Arthur back with his shoulder. The cowboy stumbled back a little, his footing a little uneasy, but he quickly righted himself and threw another punch at Boromir who avoided it this time.

"Same trick doesn't work twice!" Boromir said to Arthur who shrugged and said, "Forgive me fer trying then."

Boromir snorted before thrusting his sword towards Arthur who managed to deflect the blow. Grabbing Boromir's wrist, Arthur threw the man to the ground. Boromir gave a growl of pain and frustration as he hit the ground. Arthur gave a laugh before offering a hand to Boromir. Boromir suddenly yanked Arthur down to the ground and they tussled, rolling around as they tried to gain the upper hand on one another. Arthur had greater experience with this sort of thing and kneed Boromir in the stomach, making the man give a pained wheeze as the wind was driven from him. Pushing the man off of him, Arthur got to his feet and looked at Boromir who was getting to his own feet, a look of frustration on his face.

"Stay down, partner," Arthur advised the man. "Don't make me do summat I'll regret," he added.

Boromir gave a grunt before relaxing. Arthur relaxed as well before turning around to resume his seat, when suddenly he heard a yell and he turned around to see Boromir charging towards him. Boromir's thick arms wrapped around Arthur as he tried to tackle the Cowboy to the ground. Arthur luckily held his ground and with two quick knees to the face, Arthur brought Boromir to face level and punched the man in the jaw hard. The Gondorian man fell to the ground, nursing a more bruised jaw and groaned in pain. Arthur panted hard before sighing and held out a hand to help Boromir up. This time Boromir did not attempt to pull Arthur down and got to his feet and nodded his head.

"I'm… sorry," the Gondorian man said. "I let my temper get the better of me," he added abashedly.

"Don't worry about it," Arthur dismissed. "Just don't do it again," he suggested and Boromir nodded in acceptance.

Aragorn then chose to speak. "You must've been in your share of brawls to fight in such a manner," he observed calmly.

"I've been in my share," Arthur admitted. "And while there ain't much honour in how I fight, only people who observe the rules in the fight often end up in pine boxes," he said cynically.

"True enough, even if it isn't all that aspirational or inspire ideas of glory," Aragorn said.

"Well, when the chips are down, if it's you or them, you better make damn sure it ain't you," said Arthur and he looked at the four hobbits and said to them, "That's a life lesson you four should all learn. I know it ain't nice, but it's better than being dead."

"I suppose so," Frodo said sombrely. "But surely you believe in showing mercy to your enemies?" he asked Arthur.

Arthur sighed and said, "I wish I could show all my enemies mercy, but a lot of 'em didn't deserve mercy in the first place. You'll find out that life ain't a fairy tale. I learned that the hard way."

Arthur then looked at Merry and Pippin. "Get back to practicing, you two," he said to them. "Unless of course, you'd rather fight me?" he asked.

"I think we'd rather spar against Boromir," Merry replied as they then resumed sparring with Boromir.

Arthur sat down beside Aragorn who said to him, "What was life like back in your lands?" he asked.

"Well, the life I lead wasn't the noblest, but other people had more honest lives. Some were just trying to get by in life," replied Arthur. "But some folk liked to make others' lives hard for them, imposing laws and taxes on them," he said grimly.

"You speak as though you have no love for the law," Aragorn noted.

"I ain't got too much against the law, but most lawmen I found were nothing but a rich man's tools," said Arthur. "Don't get me wrong, I worked for the law from time to time, bringing in wanted criminals and bounties, but that was mostly for the money," he added.

"You're a mercenary then?" Aragorn asked.

"Summat like that, sure," Arthur said uneasily.

Aragorn nodded and didn't press the issue as they watched Merry and Pippin spar against Boromir. Then suddenly, Boromir put in a wrong strike and accidentally nicked Pippin's hand, causing the hobbit to yelp in pain.

"Sorry!" Boromir cried out. Pippin kicked the man in the left shin making him hold his left foot and Merry kicked his other leg, causing Boromir to fall to the ground. The two hobbits then pounced on Boromir trying to wrestle him. Boromir was laughing the whole time. Aragorn had an exasperated grin on his face at the two hobbits' antics. Arthur was chuckling as well, watching the two hobbits try to wrestle Boromir.

"For the Shire! Hold him! Hold him down, Merry!" Pippin shouted.

Getting up from his seat, Aragorn strode over to them. "Gentlemen, that's enough!" he ordered sternly laying a hand on Merry's shoulder. The two hobbits then grabbed the Dunedain's legs and pulled them out from under the man, causing him to fall over onto his back. Arthur chuckled as he walked over and with little effort, he hoisted the two hobbits into the air.

"I think you two have had enough fun for one day," he said loudly.

"Whoa!" Merry cried out as his legs flapped a little as he dangled in the air.

Legolas then looked south and saw something that caught his eye. With a few easy bounds, he perched on a nearby rock, looking at something on the horizon. Sam noticed where the elf was looking and saw some dark looking cloud.

"What is that?" Sam asked out loud for everyone to hear.

Gimli looked to where Legolas and Sam were looking. "Nothing. Just a whiff of cloud," he dismissed.

Boromir and Aragorn stood back up, looking at this "whiff of cloud." Arthur set Merry and Pippin back onto the ground and looked as well.

"It's moving fast, against the wind," Boromir stated as he watched the cloud move towards them.

Arthur strained his senses and for some reason, he heard the distant flapping of wings and cawing of birds.

"Birds," the cowboy said in confusion.

"Crebain from Dunland!" Legolas shouted.

"Hide!" Aragorn yelled.

"Hurry!" Boromir urged.

Arthur grabbed his guns as everyone scrambled for cover or a hiding spot to hide in. Sam quickly put out the fire. Arthur hid beneath a large bush as the rest of the Fellowship hid in various spots. Then a burst of darkness enveloped the area, blotting out the light and Arthur glimpsed black crows, cawing and screeching in a deafening volume, their eyes darting to and fro as if searching for something. The flock of birds circled the area twice before turning and flying back the way they came. As the birds flew away, the Fellowship came out of their hiding places.

Gandalf spoke in anger. "Spies of Saruman!" he exclaimed. "The path south is being watched. We must take the Pass of Caradhras," he said looking up towards the snowy mountains.

"Better dress warmly then," Arthur commented.

…

A few days later, the group was traversing the snowy slopes of the mountains, each of them dressed as warmly as they could for the cold climate. As they climbed up the slope, Frodo suddenly lost his footing and tumbled backwards, going end over end towards Aragorn and Arthur who caught the young hobbit.

"You okay there, kid?" the cowboy asked the Ringbearer who nodded and felt at his neck for the ring. Suddenly noticing it was not around his neck, Frodo searched around and saw the Ring on its chain, but a few meters away. The Ring lay in the white snow, gleaming gold in the light. Boromir walked towards it, his face was mournful. Arthur's hand twitched towards his Schofield as the Gondorian man picked up the ring by its chain and looked at it.

"Boromir," Aragorn called out to him to get his attention, but he was not paying attention to the ranger.

"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing," Boromir said in almost a whisper. "Such a little thing," he added softly, his hand reaching towards the Ring.

Arthur then heard that sinister little voice in his head. _"Arrthur…"_ Shaking his head to expel the voice, Arthur strode towards Boromir and grabbed his wrist. "Don't do it, partner," the cowboy threatened the man who looked at him in surprise. The cold glare Arthur gave Boromir made the man come to his senses.

"Give the ring to Frodo," Aragorn said to Boromir who looked at Arthur who released his hold on him.

"As you wish," Boromir said offering the Ring to Frodo who almost snatched it from his hand, an anguished look on his face. "I care not," the Gondorian man added before giving a chuckle and ruffling Frodo's hair. Arthur then saw Aragorn's hand on his sword as Boromir walked back up the slope.

"Would you have done it?" Arthur asked Aragorn indicating his grip on his sword. Aragorn relaxed his grip on his sword before giving his answer.

"Perhaps."

"Yeah, if you wouldn't, I would've," Arthur said grimly. "That feller's gone go mad over that ring. Just you wait," he added.

…

Two days later, the Fellowship had reached the Pass of Caradhras, the winds whipping and lashing their faces with intense cold. The snow banks were high enough to be chest height with the likes of Arthur and enough to swallow the Hobbits and Gimli in them. Gandalf used his staff to try and drive a path through the high snow. Arthur looked out across the area and saw that they were walking through a blizzard; such a thing was madness in the cowboy's eyes, but Gandalf had been insistent on going through the Pass. Legolas was walking atop the snow banks, his footstep light and sure as he moved with nimble ease. The elf looked out across the blizzard and spoke.

"There's a fell voice!" the elf shouted over the howling winds.

"It's Saruman!" Gandalf shouted as a rending echo that Arthur would swear there was a voice speaking in some language was followed by a slab of rocks and boulders tumbling down from the mountain's arms.

"Back! Against the wall!" Arthur shouted and everyone did as the cowboy said and they flattened themselves as best they could against the rockface of the mountain to avoid the deluge of snow, rocks and debris.

"He's trying to bring down the mountain!" Aragorn shouted to Gandalf. "Gandalf, we must turn back!"

"No!" Gandalf bellowed as he climbed to stand on top of the snow banks and began to chant some incantation to quell the storm. Arthur didn't know what spell Gandalf was chanting, but it didn't seem to be doing any good as lightning suddenly struck the tip of the mountain, sending down an avalanche of snow and ice. Legolas pulled Gandalf back against the wall before the avalanche hit. The snowfall buried the Fellowship near completely. Arthur punched his way free of the snow, his face nearly blue as he attempted to pull himself out. The others pulled themselves out from the snow as well.

"We must get off the mountain!" Boromir shouted. "Make for the Gap of Rohan, then take the west road to my city!" he yelled.

"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn argued.

Gimli then spoke up. "If we cannot go over the mountain, let us go under it! Let us go through the mines of Moria!" he declared.

"Either way, we gotta get off this damn mountain!" Arthur put in. "We can't stay here!" he stated.

Gandalf had a conflicted look in his eyes, as if there was something he was afraid ofbefore he spoke.

"Let the Ringbearer decide."

Frodo looked shocked at this being put on him and he looked around. Samwise was nearly blue in the face and shivering. Merry and Pippin looked the same as well.

"We cannot stay here! This will be the death of the hobbits!" Boromir said.

"Boromir's right! These Hobbits could freeze to death up here!" Arthur agreed.

"Frodo?" Gandalf looked at the Ringbearer intently, waiting for an answer.

"We will go through the mines," Frodo announced.

"So be it," Gandalf said sombrely. Arthur caught onto the way Gandalf said it, as if there was something the Grey Pilgrim wasn't telling them and was afraid to. Arthur was tempted to ask Gandalf what reason he had for wanting to avoid Moria, but it seemed there was no alternative but to take the road through Moria.

…

Taking the passage southward, the Fellowship saw signs of civilisation as they came across a large aqueduct that loomed in the mist and ice of the mountains. Arthur was tempted to take a drawing of the aqueduct, but he realised he didn't have his journal on him, something he hoped to remedy the first chance he got. As they neared, a vast cliff face, Gimli spoke reverently.

"The Walls of Moria!"

Arthur saw a large rock face with a large lake in front of it. He then said, "Really? Looks like a big cliff face to me."

"Aye, that may be, Mister Morgan, but these are the Walls of Moria. We built our homes deep inside the mountains, deep underground," replied Gimli.

"So, where's the door then? I don't see none," Arthur said.

"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed, lad," Gimli said in a matter-of-factly voice and he began tapping his axe against the rock face, as trying to find the door to Moria.

"Yes, Gimli. Their own masters cannot find them if their secrets are forgotten," Gandalf said dryly as they moved along the shore of the lake.

"Why doesn't that surprise?" Legolas said and Gimli glared at the elf. Arthur gave a chuckle at the sudden humorous words from Legolas.

"I guess I could see the benefits of a hidden door," the cowboy then said. "It'd be hard for anyone that find if they didn't know where to look. But it'd a pain in the ass if you didn't where to look neither," he added.

Frodo suddenly stumbled, his foot splashing into the waters of the lake. The lake was vast in size and dead tree branches bearded with most stuck out from the waters. Arthur glanced at the lake and he felt a sudden chill run down his spine; he did not like the look of that lake. Something about it set off his sense of doom.

Gandalf approached a space of rock between two gnarled trees, his hand running over the surface of the granite. "Ithildin," the Grey Pilgrim muttered. "It mirrors only starlight, and moonlight," he said to himself as he looked at the night sky to which the pale silver moon revealed itself from behind the darkness. Then the space between the two trees then slowly lit up in silvery white light, forming the outline of a door of two columns and an archway with a star in the centre. Strange runes that Arthur could only describe as being close to Viking in nature similar to the boulder of runes he found in his travels back home, lit up. Gimli stared at the door of his forefathers in awe. Gandalf then pointed at the runes with the tip of his staff, reading them out to the Fellowship.

"It reads, _'The Doors of Durin – Lord of Moria. Speak friend, and enter.'_"

"What do you suppose that means?" Merry asked.

"Oh, it's quite simple. If you are a friend, you speak the password and the doors will open," replied Gandalf as he pressed his staff against the glowing star and spoke in a strange tongue.

But the door stayed closed. Gandalf looked at the door in confusion before raising his hands in the air and spoke in another tongue. But the door remained closed.

"Nothing's happening," Pippin remarked and Gandalf glared at him in annoyance before attempting to push open the doors, grunting as he did so, but the doors remained fast.

"I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves, Men… and Orcs," the wizard said to himself.

"What are you going to do then?" Pippin asked him.

"Knock your head against these doors, Peregrin Took! If that does not open them, then I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions! I will try to find the opening words," Gandalf grumbled.

Hours passed by as the Fellowship waited for Gandalf to try and find the right incantation to open the doors to Moria. Gandalf was looking quite weary, while Aragorn was unhitching the horse they had brought with them from Rivendell. Sam was looking unhappy at seeing Bill being made to leave.

"The mines are no place for a pony, even one so brave as Bill," Aragorn said to Sam.

"He's right, horses don't do well in a place like a mine," Arthur put in. "He's a good horse, but he'd probably end up falling down a mineshaft somewhere," he said sadly.

"Bye-bye, Bill," Sam said softly to the pony.

"Go on, Bill. Go on," Aragorn urged the horse who began to slowly make his way through the night. "Don't worry, Sam, he knows the way home," Aragorn comforted Sam.

"Yeah, horses have got a good sense of direction, they know where home is," Arthur said with a nostalgic smile as he remembered all the horses he ever own. Leaning back, Arthur looked at the doorway to Moria. If he had some dynamite on him, he could perhaps open the doors by blowing them, but he figured that the dwarves within mightn't appreciate their door being blown up and would sour relations between them and Fellowship.

Then Merry began throwing stones into the lake, causing the water to ripple and splash with each stone thrown in. Pippin began to follow suit when Arthur grabbed his wrist. "Don't do it! Just cause yer friend is doing, don't mean you have to!" the cowboy said to the Hobbit sternly. Pippin gave a weak smile in response.

Gandalf then apparently gave up. "Oh, it's useless!" he bemoaned throwing his staff down and sat on a rock, pulling off his hat. Then Arthur, Aragorn and Boromir watched as the waters of the lake rippled ominously. Arthur fixed Merry and Pippin with a glare to which the two quailed under it. Frodo stood up and looked at the writings on the door.

"It's a riddle," the Ringbearer said. The lake continued to ripple as if something was moving towards them, causing Arthur to take out his Lancaster, ready to cock and fire at whatever was coming towards them.

"Speak friend, and enter," Frodo read the last part of the inscription. "What's the elvish word for friend?" he asked Gandalf.

"Mellon," Gandalf said without thinking twice. Then with a rumble, the dwarf doors swung open. The rest of the Fellowship took their attention off the lake as they made their way into Moria. Gandalf placed a rough-hewn crystal into the head of his staff, blowing on it making a soft white light emanate from it. Arthur followed last, casting a wary glance at the lake. Moonlight flooded the interior of the entrance as the Fellowship made their way in.

"Soon, master elf, you'll be enjoying the fabled hospitality of the dwarves!" Gimli said proudly. "Roaring fires! Malt beer! Meat ripe off the bone!" he added. Arthur had to admit that some part of him was looking forward to that.

"This, my friend, is the home of my cousin Balin," Gimli then said. Gandalf tapped his staff on the ground, making more light shine from the crystal, throwing a relief onto the dirty and broken stairs, upon which lay dark forms. "And they call it a mine. A mine!" Gimli joked.

Boromir looked at the forms and he spoke in dread. "This is no mine, it's a tomb!" he said.

Gandalf's light then revealed broken and battered skeletons with arrows stuck in them. The Hobbits leapt back startled when they were standing near a dwarf skeleton with an arrow stuck in its chest.

"Jesus!" Arthur swore as he looked at the dwarf corpses, lifting the lever of his Lancaster, ready to fire it at a moment's notice.

"Oh, no… Nooooo!" Gimli cried in anguish as he saw the dead forms of what could be his kin. Legolas yanked out an arrow from one of the skeletons, examining it.

"Goblins!" the elf hissed in anger, dropping the arrow and pulling out one of his own to nock to his bowstring. Boromir and Aragorn drew their swords.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan," Boromir said. "It was a mistake to come here!" he added.

"He's right. These fellers looked like they were slaughtered like pigs!" Arthur stated.

The hobbits were backing towards the door as Boromir shouted, "Now get out of here! Get out!"

Then something yanked Frodo towards the lake, causing him to yell out in surprise. What was pulling Frodo towards the lake was a long thick snaking tentacle.

"Frodo!" Sam, Merry and Pippin shouted as they immediately tried to free their friend. Sam drew his sword and flashed at the offending limb that was pulling Frodo towards the lake. "Get off him!" Sam shouted angrily as he hacked at the limb. That seemed to do the trick as the tentacle slipped back into the water, but then three more tentacles lashed out and knocked Sam, Merry and Pippin back. Another tentacle then grabbed Frodo and began lifting him into the air.

"Strider! Mister Morgan!" Sam shouted. Arthur, Legolas and Aragorn rushed out to rescue Frodo who was screaming in fear. Arthur fired a shot from his Lancaster at a three pronged tentacle that was trying to wrap itself around Frodo's face and suffocate him.

"Strider! Arthur!" Frodo screamed.

Pulling out his dwarven hatchet, Arthur hacked at one of the tentacles that lashed out from the waters of the lake, the sharp axeblade slicing the offending appendage in half. Aragorn and Boromir joined the fray as well, slashing at the tentacles with their swords. A tentacle flew towards Arthur who slashed at it with his axe, bisecting it in half. Then rising from the depths of the large was a large monstrous looking creature from which the tentacles belonged to. Frodo was hovering over the creature that soon opened its mouth filled with sharp milky white fangs.

"Shit!" Arthur cursed as he aimed his Lancaster at the beast's head and fired a shot. The bullet hit the creature in one of its many eyes, disturbing it. Boromir then cut off the tentacle that was holding Frodo. The Ringbearer fell and Boromir caught him. "Run!" the Gondorian man shouted.

"Into the mines!" Gandalf bellowed.

Arthur, Aragorn and Boromir then began to retreat.

"Into the cave!" Aragorn yelled.

Then the creature then tried to haul itself onto the ground, pursuing the Fellowship. Arthur spun around, time seemingly slowing down, his Lancaster held at the hip. Then with thunderous cracks, a steady stream of bullets flew out from the blackened steel barrel of Arthur's repeater, each bullet hitting the beast in the face, making it recoil in pain and roar.

"Arthur!" Aragorn shouted. Arthur quickly turned back around and ran in to join the others, just as the beast's limbs began to pull on the doorway, causing part of the cave to collapse. Slabs of rock missed Arthur by inches as he sprinted into the cave and he narrowly avoided one boulder that nearly fell on his head when he flung himself to the ground, skidding across the stone floor, his hat fluttering off.

"Arthur? Arthur?! Are you alright?" Aragorn asked the cowboy who coughed and replied, "I'm still alive, so that's something."

Picking himself and dusting himself off. Arthur then picked up his hat and placed it back on his head before looking at Frodo. "You okay, kid? Almost lost you there," the cowboy said to the Hobbit.

"I'm alright, thanks to you," replied Frodo.

"Don't mention it."

"Gandalf? What now?" Pippin asked suddenly.

"We have now but one choice," replied Gandalf grimly as he tapped his staff, causing brighter light to gleam. "We must face the long dark of Moria," he said.

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: There! The fourth chapter of this crossover done and dusted! I hope it makes the grade, and that there was a little original content with Arthur speaking a little about himself and where he comes from, so that this isn't a carbon copy of the LOTR movies which is pretty hard to do, and something that many people on this site don't like. Naturally the Fellowship is curious about Arthur and who he is and where he comes from, but aside from Gandalf who knows Arthur's background, they are unaware of Arthur's life as an outlaw, which if they did find out, they mightn't take kindly to, since they have a somewhat black and white view of things. But maybe they realize that Arthur is a good man deep down who fell in with the wrong crowd of people, But we'll get to that stage later.**

**In other news, I'm working on the rewrite of my Justice League of Amazons/Elder Scrolls crossover and I'm dealing with the whole Corona Virus nonsense that's been happening around the world, as well as job loss due to Corona Virus. On a slightly more happier note, yesterday was my birthday! 28 years old… I didn't think I'd survive this long, given all that I've been through in life, but somehow I'm proud I made it this far. On the other hand… I'M OLD! OH GOD! MY HAIR WILL BE TURNING GREY AND BALD! WHY ME?! *Inconsolable crying in the corner***

**Anyway, that's that, not much to be said, so I'll just leave this here and I'll see you all in the next one.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**


	5. The Darkness of Moria

**Lord of the Rings: An Outlaw's Redemption**

…

_**Chapter 5: The Darkness of Moria**_

Gandalf spoke to the Fellowship in a hoarse whisper. "Be on your guard!" he told them. "There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world," he warned them.

"Consider what we just saw outside? I'm inclined to believe that sentence," Arthur muttered to himself. He was still reeling from seeing that… _thing…_ in the water. The cowboy had heard old sailor stories of monsters at sea, but he had always dismissed them as fairy tales and the words of drunkards. But seeing whatever that thing was outside had made Arthur realise that what may have been a fairy tale back home could be very real in this world.

"Quietly now. It's a four-day journey to the other side," Gandalf whispered. "Let us hope our presence may go unnoticed," he added.

…

Time seemed to have little meaning in the darkness of Moria. Arthur had no clue as to whether it was morning, midday, afternoon or even night-time. The silence was almost overbearing to the cowboy as the Fellowship traversed the pathways of Moria. The paths themselves were roughhewn and narrow and the stairs was steeply made, difficult to climb and the deep chasms threatened to pull you in if you so much as looked down into them.

The Fellowship walked along a sheer rock wall and Arthur could hear hanging chains clinking, the noise echoing in the darkness. Gandalf paused for a moment, running his gnarled hand on the rock wall that had dark silvery veins running through it.

"The wealth of Moria was not in gold, or jewels, but Mithril," the Wizard said as he shone the light of his staff down the chasm. Brighter light shone on the rock face, illuminating the Fellowship. The rock face seemed to go on forever with scaffolding and ladders disappearing into the mineshafts below. Merry leaned forward to take a closer look, but Arthur pulled him back and shook his head at him. Frodo stared down until the light faded, the vision of a realm forgotten disappearing.

"Bilbo had a shirt of Mithril rings given to him by Thorin," Gandalf told the Fellowship.

"Oh, that was a kingly gift!" Gimli said in wonderment.

"Yes. I never told Bilbo, but the value of that shirt was greater than that of the Shire," Gandalf said as they began to move again.

"Must be pretty valuable, considering the size of the Shire I saw on the map," Arthur said in surprise. He could only imagine how much money this entire mine of Mithril would be worth or how expensive it would be to procure even a simple shirt of Mithril.

The Fellowship then began to climb some steep stairways in a vast cavern of numerous tombs. A vast graveyard, Arthur thought to himself as he helped the Hobbits climb the stairs. For a moment, Pippin nearly lost his footing but Arthur and Merry caught the Took just in time before he fell down the stairs.

"You okay?" the cowboy asked Pippin in concern and the hobbit nodded silently, looking shaken by his near miss.

After climbing the steep stairs, the Fellowship came to a crossroads. Three doorways stood before. Arthur looked at each doorway and muttered, "Which way do we go now?" he asked, glancing at Gandalf. The Grey Pilgrim looked at each doorway, a look of confusion on his face before he spoke.

"I have no memory of this place."

…

The Fellowship took a moment to rest while they could while Gandalf sat alone at the top trying to plot their course. Arthur stood on the lookout, keeping a wary eye out for any danger to them. Taking a moment to take off his hat and wipe his brow, Arthur sighed; he was starting to feel exhausted being in this place. He was more used to wide open spaces and forests than places like this. He longed to hear animals and birds and the whistling of the wind through the trees, hell, even the sounds of civilisation like Saint Denis would be welcome right about now. Here, the silence was deafening to Arthur, it was almost unbearable to the cowboy.

Taking out his hipflask of dwarven ale and twisting the cap off, Arthur took a sip to steady his fraying nerves. He took only a sip, knowing that drinking too much would dull his movements which would kill him in a fight. Feeling his nerves calm a little, Arthur screwed the cap back on and put the flask into his satchel. The cowboy felt much calmer now. Sighing quietly to himself, Arthur went back on lookout and took a moment to clean his guns. Squatting down, Arthur took out a rag and some of the cleaning oil Eibear had given him for this purpose. Pouring a little oil onto the rag, Arthur began to rub down his guns, cleaning off the dirt and grime from them before holstering them. Taking out his hatchet, Arthur rubbed down the blade of the axe, cleaning off any residue from the battle with the squid/octopus create from before. Once the hatchet's blade was clean, Arthur stowed it away and stood to his feet, just in time as Gandalf spoke. "Ah, it's that way," he said.

"He's remembered!" Merry said in relief.

The Fellowship began to rise from their seats as Gandalf put on his hat and said to Merry. "No. But the air doesn't smell so foul down there," he told the hobbit as he led them down the chosen pathway. "When in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose," the Wizard advised.

Walking down the stairways, the Fellowship came into a vast hall filled with ornate columns and pillars, reaching up towards the dark ceiling as far as the eye could see. Gandalf said, "Let me risk a little more light." Tapping the foot of his staff on the ground, the crystal of his staff shone more brightly, illuminating the vast hall. Arthur stared in awe, as did the rest of the Fellowship. Arthur really wished he had a journal and pencil, or at least something to draw with; something like this was begging to be drawn onto paper.

"If only the others could see this," the cowboy muttered. "Wonder how long it took 'em to build this place?" he asked himself.

"Now there's an eye opener, no mistake," Samwise said.

"Behold, the great realm and Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf," Gandalf told the Fellowship.

The dark hall was edged with silvery light from Gandalf's staff, shivering in the light it had not seen in many years. The Fellowship then began to walk down the hallway. Gimli was walking upfront with Gandalf. The dwarf peered around a column and saw a ray of sunlight coming from a chamber where the skeletons of dwarves were scattered. Gimli gave a short loud grunt and dashed ahead into the chamber. Gandalf gave a warning cry to the dwarf who paid no heed as he entered the chamber with the Fellowship following him.

Upon entering the chamber and seeing a sarcophagus in the centre of the room, Gimli began to weep as he read the runes inscribed on it. "No… No!" The dwarf began to cry in pain and sorrow. Gandalf read the runes on the sarcophagus.

"Here lies Balin, Son of Fundin, Lord of Moria," Gandalf recited the words. "He is dead then, it's as I feared," the wizard said gravely and Gimli gave a sob of anguish, now knowing the fate of his beloved cousin. Arthur patted Gimli on the shoulder in an attempt to comfort the dwarf who could only weep. Gandalf passed his hat and staff to Pippin before taking a large dusty tome from a dwarf skeleton and opened it, clearing away the dust and dirt with a puff of air from his mouth.

"We must leave! We cannot linger!" Legolas whispered urgently to Aragorn and Arthur.

"He's right," Arthur agreed. "These fellers look like they were massacred!" he said, glancing at each of the dwarf skeletons.

Gandalf then began reading out the lines in the book. "They have taken the bridge… and the second hall," he recited. Gimli paused for a moment, looking at Gandalf blankly. "We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes." Pippin was moving away from Gandalf a little. "Drums… drums in the deep," Gandalf continued and he looked up slowly before turning the bloodstained page. Everyone began to glance around uncomfortably. "We cannot get out. A Shadow moves in the Dark." Pippin then looked behind him to see the skeleton of a dwarf sitting on the edge of a well, an arrow stuck in its chest.

"We cannot get out…" Gandalf read and looked at the last line scrawled on the page. "They are coming," he said in dread.

Pippin touched the arrow stuck in the skeleton, causing the skull to fall into the well with a loud clang, breaking the silence with a resounding crash and bang. Arthur whipped out his Lancaster aiming it at Pippin and everyone looked at the hobbit who had a guilty look on his face. The rest of the skeleton's body fell into the well also, dragging with it a bucket and chain. Loud crashes and bangs echoing in the Mines until it gradually fell silent. For a moment, everyone held their breath, waiting to see if Pippin's actions had woken anything. After a moment, nothing happened and Gandalf slammed the book shut.

"Fool of a Took!" He growled at the hobbit snatching his hat and staff out from his hands. "Next time throw yourself in and rid us of your stupidity!" he said.

"Don't bother! Do summat like that again and I'll throw you in myself!" Arthur spat at Pippin who looked down at the ground in shame.

Then, coming from the well was a deep noise.

**BOOM-BOOM.**

Gandalf slowly turned back around as did Pippin.

**BOOM… BOOM-BOOM.**

**Boom-boom-boom.**__The beat paused before continuing. With the sound, came more noises and terror creeped into the Fellowship.

"Ah shit!" Arthur cursed as he lifted the lever of his Lancaster, cocking it and seeing a little light shine in the chamber of the repeater.

"Frodo!" Samwise said to the Ring-Bearer who looked at his sword, the blade glowing a pale blue.

Then the gleeful sounds of goblins began to echo throughout Moria.

"We got company!" Arthur said.

"Orcs!" Legolas stated as his keen hearing picked up the sounds. Boromir rushed to the door to take a look. A sharp whistling and Boromir managed to pull his head back in time as arrows stuck themselves in the doorway followed by a loud roar. Aragorn and Arthur rushed over to the Gondorian man.

"Stay back! Keep close to Gandalf!" Arthur shouted at the hobbits.

Arthur, Boromir and Aragorn then shut the door. "They have a cave troll!" Boromir said in resignation. The three men then began to bar the door with the old and rusty weapons scattered about before they moved back and drew their weapons. Gandalf drew his sword with a yell, tossing aside his hat. The hobbits then drew their own swords. Frodo's sword, Sting quivered, glowing blue. Gimli leapt atop of Balin's tomb, his axes in hand and gave a fearsome snarl.

"Reeaaargh! Let them come!" he growled. "There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!" he declared.

"That's a comfort," Arthur joked as he looked down the sight of his repeater, crouched down on one knee with Legolas and Aragorn standing on either side of him, their bows at the ready. Boromir stood to the side, his broadsword drawn and his shield on his arm. The goblins then began to pound at the door, trying to break through it.

Small gaps began to appear in the aged wood. Arthur then gave a chuckle which caused everyone to look at him and the cowboy said, "Is it me? Or are they suicidal?" Everyone gave a grim chuckle at Arthur's dark humour in the situation.

As the first clear gap was made by a goblin spear, Legolas loosed an arrow. The missile soared through the gap followed by a squeal as it obviously hit a target. Legolas nocked another arrow to his bow as Aragorn loosed his own arrow, hitting another goblin through the gap. Arthur took in a deep breath as the door was then broken down by the charging goblins.

Time slowed to a crawl as Arthur then began to fire his Lancaster, plugging each goblin in the head, until time resumed its normal pace. Fourteen goblins lay dead in front of the Fellowship. Arthur released the breath he was holding, but the other goblins then took this moment to charge again. Gimli gave a dwarven battlecry, and Aragorn quickly put away his bow and drew his longsword as a goblin leapt toward him. The Dunédain ranger swung his sword at the leaping goblin, the steel blade cutting deep into the creature's stomach.

Boromir charged forward, his shield raised which took the brunt of a goblin's attack before he stabbed it with his sword. Legolas leapt back, still firing arrows at goblins; one goblin came near, but the Elf prince used one arrow to stab the ugly thing in the head before nocking the same arrow and fired it at another. Arthur switched his Lancaster for his sawed-off shotgun; each resounding boom from the gun blasted apart a goblin, leaving gaping fist-sized holes in their bodies.

Three goblins then charged at Arthur; their shields raised to block the buckshot pellets. Gritting his teeth, Arthur then drew Orcrist, the blade seemed to glow in anticipation of killing goblins. Upon seeing the fabled elf blade, the goblins screeched and jabbered in fear, shrinking back, and baring their pointed teeth in anger. Smirking to himself, Arthur swung the elven blade at a pair of goblins; the blade sheared off their heads in one stroke.

Meanwhile, a goblin leapt at Gimli who was still standing on his cousin's tomb; the dwarf warrior swung his axe into the goblin's stomach with a roar. Gandalf gave a yell and charged forward; the hobbits followed suit with cries of their own. Frodo ducked underneath a goblin's sword while Pippin faced down another after killing his first goblin. Merry stabbed a goblin repeatedly and Samwise drove his sword through a goblin's chest.

Legolas aimed at another goblin and fired; the arrow speared the creature through the chest, making it scream in pain. Another goblin roared angrily at Aragorn who gave a roar of his own and took off the goblin's head with his sword. Black blood spurted out of the stump where the goblin's head once was. Arthur drove his sword deep into a goblin's guts before pulling the blade out and hacked off the creature's head. Sheathing Orcrist, Arthur then switched to his sawed-off shotgun, hefting it in his hand as a goblin charged towards him.

Arthur aimed his shotgun at the creature who raised its shield in front of it. Arthur spotted that the goblin left its feet unprotected. Aiming low, Arthur fired his shotgun, the buckshot pellets shredding the goblin's feet into confetti. The goblin gave an inhuman squeal as it fell onto its chest and looked up to see the barrel of Arthur's shotgun aimed its face. It was the last thing it ever saw as the barrel exploded, tearing apart the goblin's head into a shredded mess.

Breaking it open and allowing it to reload before closing it back up, Arthur aimed his shotgun at another goblin who tried to stab him with its barbed spear. Turning to avoid the thrust, Arthur smashed the handle of his shotgun into the goblin's jaw, breaking the creature's jaw and knocking out a few of its teeth. The goblin fell down, grunting and whining like a wounded animal and Arthur out the thing out of its misery by slamming his foot down hard onto its neck, breaking it.

Then a loud roar made itself known and Samwise paused in the middle of battle and looked up to see what had made that noise. Aragorn also looked up and saw as a large hulking creature, a cave troll, smash its way into the tomb. A collar and a long chain were attached to the creature's neck with a pair of goblins pulling on the chain, leading it. The troll gave a loud bellow, making everyone look to see it. Legolas quickly fired an arrow at the creature's shoulder, making the beast growl in pain, clapping a meaty hand to the wound.

Samwise stared up at the troll in muted frozen horror. The troll then raised a large hammer in its hands, preparing to slam down it down on the hobbit. Samwise gave a yell of terror as he dived between the troll's stumpy legs and crawled away, just as the troll slammed its weapon down where the hobbit stood. The troll turned around and saw the hobbit had crawled into a corner. Lumbering over, the troll raised one foot to squash Samwise.

But then Aragorn and Boromir grabbed the chain attached to the collar on the troll's neck and pulled with all their might, sweat pouring from their brows, their teeth gritted in exertion. Arthur stepped in and helped pull on the troll's chain, his own grunts of exertion being made. But their effort did pull the troll's attention away from Samwise, but the troll retaliated by spinning to the right, swinging its mace as it did so. Aragorn, Arthur and Boromir ducked under the swing with the first two letting go of the chain. Boromir stood back and realised he was still holding the chain in his hands.

The troll appeared to notice this and yanked forcefully on its chain, whipping Boromir off the ground and sent the Gondorian man flying and crashing into a wall. Boromir slid down the wall and groaned in pain, dazed and disoriented, but he then saw a goblin in front of him. The goblin raised its sword, preparing to land a killing blow. But then the sound of something hitting the goblin in the back of its head made it squeal and fall to the ground dead.

A dwarven hatchet was stuck in the back of the goblin's head and Boromir saw Arthur, his hand lowered to the ground and realised the cowboy had saved his life. The Gondorian man nodded his thanks at the cowboy who nodded back in reply.

Standing atop Balin's tomb, Gimli threw one of his throwing axes at the troll. The blade of the throwing axe pierced the shoulder of the troll making it roar in pain as it lumbered towards Gimli and swing its mace down where Gimli stood. The dwarf warrior leapt off just in time as the troll's mace smashed the sarcophagus in a spray of dust and rubble. Arthur had his Schofield out, firing bullets at the goblins between him and Frodo, Merry and Pippin. Making his way towards the hobbits while reloading, the cowboy said to them.

"You two! Get Frodo out of the thing's line of fire!" the cowboy ordered Merry and Pippin.

"Yessir, Mr Morgan!" Merry replied as he and Pippin hustled Frodo onto the upper walkway and behind a pillar.

Gimli hacked at a goblin in front of him, just as the troll swung its mace at him. Gimli ducked in time, allowing the troll to kill the goblin instead. Another goblin charged at Gimli who fell over the ground. Legolas then nocked two arrows to his bow, pulling the bowstring back, aiming at the troll; aiming at the troll, the elf prince released the bowstring. The two arrows hit the troll, making it reel back in pain and fall onto its back. Using what was left of the sarcophagus, the troll levered itself back to standing position.

Gandalf slammed his staff into a goblin's head, crushing its skull before slicing another goblin with his sword while twisting around. Arthur got to higher ground, taking out his Lancaster, firing it at a goblin in front of him, the bullet piercing through its skull and brains. Black blood spurted out from the goblin's head as it fell against the wall and slid down, leaving a black slimy trail of goblin blood.

Lifting the lever of his repeater when he saw Legolas in front of him, holding his bow to the side and in his other hand, he held one of the long elven daggers, taking down two goblins in front of him. The cowboy then saw the troll had gotten back to its feet and was beginning to use its chain as a weapon and was readying to swing it at Legolas.

"Legolas! Watch out!" Arthur shouted at the elf prince who looked up in time to see the troll swing its chain at him. Legolas dodged the strike and the troll swung again with the elf prince dodging it again. The troll then tried a downward strike making Legolas jump to his right to avoid it. The troll then swiped its chain again, this time the chain wrapped around the pillar. With the agility of a tree cat, Legolas nimbly walked the chain and onto the troll's shoulders, aiming an arrow at the troll's head.

The arrow broke on contact with the troll's thick skull and Legolas leapt off the troll before it could retaliate. Arthur quickly aimed his Lancaster and fired at the troll's neck, breaking the chain rendering it useless as a weapon. Meanwhile, Samwise slammed his cast iron skillet into a goblin's face, backing up to a wall and spotting another goblin and panned it in the face with his skillet.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this," the hobbit said to himself before hitting another goblin.

The troll then spotted the other free hobbits as they moved out into view. The troll raised its mace high into the air before slamming it down. The hobbits leapt to the side; Frodo to his right, and Merry & Pippin to their left. The troll's mace destroyed the walkway between the hobbits, separating them.

"Frodo!" Aragorn shouted as he began fighting his way towards the Ringbearer. Frodo hid on the other side of a pillar as the troll began to search for him on the opposite. Aragorn furiously fought his way to Frodo, punching with his left arm while slashing at goblins with his sword. The troll then attempted to search the side of the pillar Frodo was on; the Ringbearer quickly moved to the opposite side.

The troll sniffed the air, trying to search for the hobbit before it moved away, seemingly abandoning it search. Frodo heaved a sigh in relief while Aragorn continued to fight his way towards him. As Frodo sighed in relief, the troll reappeared, roaring in Frodo's face causing the Ringbearer to yelp in fright and fall back into a corner. The troll quickly found him and grabbed the hobbit with one meaty hand, lifting him in the air.

"Aragorn? Aragorn!" Frodo shouted desperately.

Aragorn panted in exhaustion, yet he continued onwards. "Frodo!" the Dunédain yelled.

Frodo slashed at the troll's hand with Sting, causing it to drop him and stare at its injured hand in surprise. Frodo fell and lay on the stone floor and looked up to see the troll raise its mace high and prepared to swing. Then leaping out in front of Frodo, armed with a long spear was Aragorn who stabbed the troll in the stomach. The speartip could not penetrate deep enough into the troll's thick hide, but it still hurt the creature.

Merry and Pippin began throwing rocks at the troll, annoying it, swinging its arm out blindly and knocking Aragorn into the wall, almost knocking him out. Frodo crawled over to the Heir of Gondor, trying to wake the man. The troll then pulled the spear out from its belly and attempted to stab Frodo in the head. The Ringbearer ducked in time and slashed at the troll's hand with Sting, but this did nothing. The hobbit then made to run but the troll blocked his path, throwing him back against the wall.

The troll pulled back with the spear and thrust forward; this time it did not miss. The spear struck Frodo in the chest making him groan loudly, catching everyone's attention. Arthur and Gandalf stared in shock. Merry and Pippin looked at each before they leapt onto the troll's back, stabbing it in the head repeatedly with their Barrow blades. But their blades had no effect on the troll's thick skin, only serving to annoy it.

Samwise looked and saw Frodo slide down to the ground seemingly dead. "Frodo!" Samwise shouted in horror. Arthur could only stare in disbelief, memories of Sean, Hosea and Lenny's deaths flashing through his mind. How Sean was shot in the head by a sniper after the bank robbery in Rhoades, how Hosea was shot in the back by Milton in Saint Denis and how Lenny was gunned down by lawmen trying to find an escape route for the gang.

"Frodo!" Samwise then began fighting his way towards his fallen friend, slashing with his shortsword and swinging his skillet. Gandalf joined too, swing his sword and staff, taking down any goblins in front of him. Seeing red, Arthur fired shot after shot at any goblins in front of him. Boromir cut down a goblin in front of him and sliced a goblin across the chest with his sword. Frodo's body slumped against the ground with the spear still stuck in his chest.

The troll flailed its arms and managed to grab Merry, swinging him around making the Took yell. Then Gimli hacked his axe into the troll's back causing the troll to release Merry; the Took fell to the ground with a gasp of pain. Gandalf struck at the troll with his own sword, pulling back as Gimli made another strike. The troll swung its hand out and knocked the dwarf warrior to the ground. Arthur aimed his Lancaster at the troll and aimed carefully; firing methodically at the troll's stomach, the Lancaster roared as bullets flew from its barrel in flashed of fire and puffs of smoke.

The troll roared in pain as the bullets penetrated its thick hide, black blood pouring the golf ball sized wounds. The troll still stood, but was dazed and wounded, then Pippin stabbed his Barrow blade into the back of its head one more time, making the troll throw its head back in pain. Legolas had readied his bow with an arrow and as the troll exposed its throat, Legolas released the arrow and the arrow pierced the troll's soft throat.

The troll stood still, clutching its throat with one hand, groaning, staring upwards and with another long, pained moan, it fell forward onto the ground with a thud, finally dead. Arthur sighed in relief and exhaustion. A moment of silence fell over the Fellowship as they regrouped in the middle of the tomb, the ground littered with the bodies of dead goblins and the cave troll. Arthur took this moment to retrieve his dwarven hatchet from the skull of the goblin he killed saving Boromir.

The group then rushed over to Frodo as Aragorn awoke to see Frodo lying next to him.

"Oh, no. No…" Aragorn said in sorrow.

"Shit…" Arthur cursed as the memories of Sean, Hosea and Lenny once again entered his mind. He hadn't known Frodo that long, but the hobbit was a good sort who had been thrust into a situation he wasn't prepared and burdened with a responsibility that he should never have had to bear. "Poor kid," the cowboy said in sadness.

Aragorn turned Frodo to see Frodo was still alive. Arthur saw Frodo was alive. "He's alive!" the cowboy exclaimed in relief.

"I'm alright… I'm not hurt," Frodo said in a gasp of air.

"How the hell did you do that?!" Arthur asked.

"Arthur's right. That spear would have skewered a wild boar!" Aragorn voiced his agreement.

"I think there's more to this hobbit then meets the eye," Gandalf said wisely.

Frodo partially opened his shirt to reveal a silvery shirt of mail. Gimli said in awe, "Mithril!"

"I know what I want for Christmas now," Arthur said dumbly.

"You're full of surprises, Master Baggins," Gimli said to Frodo. Then the sound of pounding goblin drums was heard and looking at the door, the Fellowship saw the torchlight and shadows of goblins.

"Jesus! Don't they ever give up?!" Arthur swore. Looking at Gandalf, the cowboy asked, "There a way outta this godforsaken hellhole?"

"Yes. To the bridge of Khazad-dum!" the Grey Pilgrim commanded. Leaving the tomb through a hall in the wall, the Fellowship ran out into the Dwarrowdelf, a single ray of sunlight streamed in through some hole high in the ceiling. Arthur ran beside Gandalf, his Lancaster held in his arms. Out of crevices in the floor and ceiling, goblins climbed out, the ones on the ceiling crawled down the pillars like spiders.

"Christ alive! Spider-goblins?!" Arthur said in disbelief. The Fellowship ran as fast as they could as goblins came out from every side, before surrounding the Fellowship. Keeping the hobbits in the centre, Arthur aimed his Lancaster at the leering and snarling faces of the goblins. As Arthur prepared to make peace with his maker and go down fighting, a deep rumbling roar was heard and Arthur then saw a deep fiery light at the end of the hall. The goblins then all chattered fearfully before fleeing back into their holes in all directions.

Arthur could only guess that whatever made that sound had scared the goblins away, but he doubted it was friendly. Aiming his repeater in the direction of the fiery light, Arthur prepared to face whatever was coming towards them.

"What new devilry is this?" Boromir asked Gandalf who closed his eyes in concentration. After a moment, the Grey Pilgrim spoke.

"A balrog," the Istari said gravely. Arthur noticed the look of fear on Legolas's face and understanding that whatever a balrog was, it was definitely dangerous. "A demon of the ancient world," Gandalf added and another deep echoing growl was heard as the fiery light began to move closer.

"This foe is beyond any of you," Gandalf said to the Fellowship. "Run!" he ordered. The Fellowship then ran, following Gandalf heading towards a small doorway set in a stone wall. Gandalf stopped at the door, urging the group into the doorway. "Quickly!" the Wizard shouted before taking a glance behind him before following the Fellowship.

The Fellowship ran down a passage and went down a flight of stairs with Boromir in the lead. But then Boromir almost fell as the stairs ended in a broken segment. The Captain of the White Tower managed to stop himself before he fell off, but he teetered on the edge but Arthur and Legolas pulled the man back in time as the rest of the Fellowship caught up and stopped in their tracks.

"Gandalf?" Aragorn asked Gandalf who leaned against the wall.

"Lead them on, Aragorn! The bridge is near!" the Wizard said to the Dunédain who tried to help him to his feet. Gandalf shook him off roughly and shouted, "Do as I say! Swords are no more use here!"

The Balrog roared as it began slamming against the small doorway. Arthur then spotted a flight of stairs, "Down this way!" the cowboy shouted and the Fellowship followed the stairs that twisted down into the fiery depths below. But then there was a gap in the stairs as part had been broken off at some point in time. Legolas leapt smoothly across like cat, before he turned around and said, "Gandalf!" he urged.

Gandalf then leaped across with Legolas catching him, just as a sharp whistle and arrow struck the spot where Gandalf stood but a moment ago. Arthur then spotted goblin archers on ledges far above the Fellowship. "Archers up top!" the gunslinger cursed as he switched to his Rolling Block Rifle and aimed down the scope. Another arrow landed near the hobbits causing them to shuffle back a bit.

Arthur cursed as he aimed at one of the goblins and fired his rolling block. A resounding boom of thunder was heard as the bullet took off the goblin archer's head off. The dead goblin was replaced with another goblin. Legolas and Aragorn pulled out their bows and fired arrows at the goblin archer, killing a few.

"Merry! Pippin!" Boromir hoisted the Peregrine and Took into his arms and leapt across the gap, landing on the other side just as part of the stairs broke off a little more. Arthur shot another goblin, causing it to tumble off the ledge and it was replaced with another goblin.

"Sam!" Aragorn lifted Samwise into his arms and threw him across to Boromir who caught him in time. Aragorn turned to Gimli who held up his hand and said, "Nobody tosses a dwarf!" Gimli then leapt across the gap, landing on the edge but only just and he teetered for a moment but Legolas grabbed the dwarf by the hairs of his beard.

"Not the beard!" Gimli shouted but Legolas pulled the dwarf up.

Arthur fired another around at a goblin but then the stairs began to crumble beneath them. Aragorn pushed Frodo up the stairs and clambers after him, Arthur managed to back up in time and pulled Aragorn up to his feet. The three then looked at the much mor significant gap between them and the rest of the Fellowship.

"Hold on!" Aragorn told Frodo.

"This ain't lookin' good!" Arthur said.

The Balrog roared in fury as it pounded against the doorway, the stone structure began to lose its integrity as the demon tried to break through. Then a huge boulder fell from the ceiling and smashed through the stairs behind Arthur, Aragorn and Frodo, creating another gap and weakening the foundation. The stairs began to wobble as Arthur, Aragorn and Frodo tried not to move to suddenly.

"Hang on!" Aragorn said to Frodo, holding the Ringbearer by the shoulder.

Arthur was then struck with an idea. "I got an idea! Lean forward! Tilt the weight towards the others!" he told Aragorn and Frodo. Doing just that, they managed to make the stairs fall towards to where the Fellowship was.

"Steady as she goes!" Arthur shouted.

Then the stairs landed on the other side and Arthur, Aragorn and Frodo leapt off the broken stairs as it fell into the abyss below. The Fellowship then fled down the stairs and around a corner into a hall where flames leapt and danced and whirled behind them.

"Over the bridge! Fly!" Gandalf bellowed.

The Fellowship fled across the narrow bridge, but Gandalf did not follow. Instead he turned around to look behind him. Then in an explosion of ash and flame some fiery demon with a bull like head with curling horns and its eyes like white fire. The demon then opened its maw and roared, searing heat from the depths of its mouth. Arthur stopped at the bridge to make sure everyone made it across and saw Gandalf had not joined them and he then saw what Gandalf was looking. Primal terror gripped Arthur but he chose to ignore it for the moment and focussed on Gandalf.

"Gandalf!? C'mon! We gotta move!" the gunslinger shouted at the Wizard who looked back at him and shouted, "Go, Arthur! Go now!"

Arthur hesitated for a moment but then complied as he ran across the bridge and Gandalf followed as well. But then Grey Pilgrim then stopped half way across the bridge.

"What are ya doin'?!" Arthur shouted at Gandalf who faced the Balrog.

"You cannot pass!" the Istari told the demon who simply roared in defiance.

"Gandalf!" Frodo shouted in fear.

The Balrog then unfurled great ash black wings and fire erupted all overs its body. Gandalf stood before it, unafraid with his sword and staff raised.

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame or Arnor!" the Wizard proclaimed as bright white light emanated from the crystal of his staff, enveloping him in a globe of endless light. "The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun!" he declared.

The Balrog heaved its arm up, a sword made of pure fire form in its clawed hand. With a great forceful strike, the balrog swung its fiery blade at Gandalf. The balrog's sword shattered against the white light in fiery shards. The balrog roared, enraged by this act.

"Go back to the Shadow!" Gandalf commanded through clenched teeth.

A snort of flame came from the Balrog's nose as it took a step on the bridge. The demon then conjured a fiery whip, lashing it menacingly. Gandalf then lifted his sword and staff together in the air.

"YOU… SHALL NOT… PASS!" Gandalf bellowed in defiance before slamming his staff down onto the bridge in a burst of light. Flaring its nostrils as if to say _"Is that it?"_ the Balrog took a step forward onto the bridge, but then bridge collapsed beneath, causing it to fall into the deep chasm below. The Balrog roared as it fell into darkness below. Gandalf panted in relief as he turned around to join the Fellowship but then the balrog's whip wrapped itself around the Wizard's ankle, dragging him over the edge. Gandalf dropped his sword and staff and struggled to pull himself up, clinging to the bridge.

Frodo tried to run forward but Boromir stopped him.

"No! No!" The Gondorian man shouted.

"Gandalf!" the Ringbearer shouted in anguish.

Gandalf looked at the Fellowship before saying, "Fly, you fool!" before dropping down into darkness below.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Frodo screamed in sadness and pain.

Arthur stared, his eyes wide with shock, stunned by what he had just seen.

"Aragorn!" Boromir shouted as he pulled Frodo up the stairs that would lead them out of Moria. Frodo continued to scream, still stricken by what he had witnessed.

Arthur stared at the broken bridge but he suddenly felt someone shaking his arm. "Arthur!" The cowboy looked to see Aragorn. "We must leave!" the Dunédain shouted at the gunslinger who nodded dumbly before fleeing with the Fellowship, out of the darkness of Moria.

…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: There! After a long wait, I finally updated this! I apologise for the long wait, but real life and other projects have kept me busy, but I've finally updated this like some of you have asked me if I would. So, I hope this makes the grade for you all and I hope to see your reviews of it, because if you don't leave a review on this chapter, I'll find you~~~~~.**

**Just kidding.**

**Anyways, I can't promise that I'll work on the next chapter right away after this, but I will at least try to make an effort to. Reviews can and do encourage me to write more, so long as they're constructive, because I had a couple of nasty reviews on one of my other stories that somewhat discourage me. I will say this; if you have any criticisms to make about my work, then do so constructively and politely. If you're just going to throw around rude language and not offer any constructive critiques/advice, then you can show yourselves out the door.**

**Don't get me wrong, I fully understand and accept that not everyone is gonna like what I write, but I'm not forcing anyone to read what I write or to like what I write. Besides, it's not hard to be polite to people you know?**

**Moving on.**

**I've been struck with an idea for a Red Dead Redemption/Elder Scrolls crossover of the Dragonborn ending up in the RDR universe. Still trying to decide which RDR setting I would have the Dragonborn land in; I'd kinda like to see the Van Der Linde gang's reaction to actual Tamriel magic, Jack might think the Dragonborn is an actual wizard which to the people of the RDR world, he might as well be. But I'd kinda like to see the Dragonborn in the Red Dead Online world, going around carrying free roam tasks and doing some of the Frontier Roles such as the Collector, Bounty Hunter, Trader, Moonshiner and the newest role, the Naturalist.**

**Speaking of the Naturalist, what do you all think of it? I'm not sure what to think of it to be honest because it's kinda slow going trying to find animals to track and take samples from, but on the other hand, we now have more animal spawns but I can't kill them or else Harriet sprays me with whatever she has. What are your thoughts on the newest Frontier Role in RDO?**

**Anyways, that is about it from me and I shall see you all in the next one.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**


	6. The Lady of Lothlorien

**Lord of the Rings: An Outlaw's Redemption**

…

_Chapter 6: The Lady of Lothlorien_

Arthur winced slightly as his eyes first met the sunshine of the outside world. The smell of fresh mountain air hit his nose which almost made him sigh in relief, but it was dampened by what had happened in Moria. Arthur hung his head in sorrow as the memory of Gandalf falling to his death ran through the cowboy's mind. And memories of Sean, Hosea and Lenny's deaths all paraded through his mind too.

Burying the memories for a later date, Arthur looked to the rest of the Fellowship. Samwise was sitting on the ground, his head held in his hand, weeping. Merry was trying to console a sobbing Pippin and Boromir was trying to restrain Gimli who was trying to make his way back into the Mines, roaring his grief and anger. Legolas had a look of shock and disbelief, his blue-grey eyes puzzled and unsure of what had happened. Arthur then looked at Aragorn who did not appear to be grieving; if he was, he was hiding it well.

Aragorn wiped the blade of his sword clean and spoke. "Legolas, get them up," he commanded. The Elf Prince glanced at the Dunédain before walking over to the Hobbits and got them on their feet.

"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir said in a pleading voice, his voice choked by grief.

"By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with goblins!" Aragorn said to the Gondorian. "We must reach the woods of Lothlorien!" he declared.

"Aragorn's right," Arthur said. "I know what just happened was rough, but we gotta keep moving, or else those goblins will catch up to us," he added.

"How can you say that so easily, Morgan?!" Boromir demanded angrily. "Do you even know what it's like to lose a friend or loved one while being powerless to stop it?!" he shouted.

Arthur clenched his hands and walked over to Boromir and got in the man's face. "You think I don't know what it's like to watch a friend or loved one die in front of me?" the cowboy asked him, his voice low and dangerous. "Believe you me, I know what it's like to lose friends and people I care about! I watched three of the people I call family die in front of me and I couldn't do a thing to stop it!" he said angrily. "And I watched as the man I called friend and brother slowly lose himself and betray everything he ever believed in!" he added.

"So, don't stand there accusing me of not knowing what it's like to lose friends and loved ones! Because I know what it's like!" Arthur growled at Boromir who looked shock at the look of anger and grief on Arthur's face.

"Now, c'mon! We gotta get moving, or else Gandalf's sacrifice will be all for nothing!" Arthur spat as he turned on his heel and marched off. "I'm gonna scout ahead, make sure the way is clear!" he said to Aragorn, the tone of his voice indicating that he was going to do it regardless. Aragorn nodded in understanding.

…

Arthur marched ahead, his Lancaster in his hands as he jogged ahead, checking for any signs of enemies. Stopping a moment to take stock of his surroundings, Arthur was once again visited by memories of the gang. Shaking his head and gritting his teeth, Arthur tired once more to bury the memories of the gang.

"Can't look back, not now," the cowboy muttered to himself and he looked to see the rest of the Fellowship catching up to him.

"Arthur? Is the way clear?" Aragorn asked him as he neared.

"Looks to be that way," Arthur grunted in reply. Looking ahead, Arthur spied golden-green leaved trees in the distance. "That would Lothlorien, right?" he asked Aragorn who nodded.

"Right, well, let's keep moving then," the cowboy said as he began to march on and the rest of the Fellowship followed him.

The Fellowship jogged across a green meadow, halting under the eaves of the golden-green trees before them before entering the threshold. Lichen and moss covered the trunks and boughs of the tall trees and leaves twirled as they floated down to the grassy floor.

Arthur glanced about uneasily; for some reason he could feel eyes watching him and he tightened his grip on his Lancaster, ready to cock it and aim at whatever was watching him.

"Stay close, young hobbits!" Gimli whispered to the Halflings. "They say a great sorceress lives in these woods… an elf-witch of terrible power! All who look upon her fall under her spell…" he said.

Arthur half listened to the dwarf, too preoccupied with his sense of unease in the forest. Then a soft voice whispered in his head.

"_Arthur…"_ The cowboy looked around startled but he saw no-one whispering his name and the voice whispered in his head again. _"Your arrival in this world has not gone unnoticed,"_ the voice whispered. Arthur felt a chill run down his spine at those words. The voice whispered further, _"But whether your actions are for good or ill rests on the choices you make."_

The voice did not whisper anymore and Gimli's voice spoke proudly. "Well, here is one dwarf she won't ensnare so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!" he boasted confidently. But then an arrow was suddenly pointed in the dwarf's face, pulled back on a bowstring. Gimli gave an "Oh!" of surprise having been caught off guard so easily. Other arrows nocked to bows appeared in front of the Fellowship, all wielded by elves wearing cloaks. Legolas had his own bow out, aimed at the other elves. Arthur aimed down the iron sights of his repeater, ready to fire the first shot.

Then walking out into view was a tall golden haired elf who said, "The dwarf breathes so loud, we could've shot him in the dark." Gimli gave a growl and glared at the elf.

"Not very polite to sneak up on a feller pointing an arrow in his face, especially he's got an itchy trigger finger," Arthur stated as he aimed his repeater in the elf's direction. The elf looked blandly at the cowboy.

"Our Lady sensed your approach, Arthur Morgan," the elf then said to Arthur.

"Well, ain't that dandy," Arthur scoffed. "If you know who I am, then there ain't a need to fight now, is there?" he said and the elf nodded and his men lowered their bows, after which Arthur lowered his repeater.

…

The elves took the Fellowship up into one of the tall trees on a platform. The lead elf was speaking with Aragorn and Legolas, greeting them with some form of familiarity. From what Arthur could gather of the conversation, the elf's name was Haldir, leader of the Lothlorien guard, but other than that, Arthur couldn't say for he had still yet to learn the elvish language.

Haldir, Aragorn and Legolas's conversation in elvish seemed to annoy Gimli who spoke up. "So much for the legendary courtesy of the elves!" he mocked. "Speak words we can all understand!" he demanded.

Haldir levelled his gaze at the dwarf and said, "We have not had dealings with the dwarves since the dark days."

"And you know what this dwarf says to that?" Gimli replied before speaking what Arthur could only guess was something very rude judging by the cold look on Haldir's face.

"Might wanna keep a lid on that mouth of yers, Gimli," Arthur said to the dwarf. "Specially when these fellers could kill us all and no one would ever find out," he added.

Haldir then glanced at Frodo and spoke. "You bring great evil here with you," he said. "You can go no further," he added looking at Aragorn sternly. With that, Haldir walked away and Aragorn followed to speak with him. Sam, Merry and Pippin looked at Frodo who looked uncomfortable at this.

As Aragorn argued quietly in elvish with Haldir, the rest of the Fellowship took this moment to rest. Arthur thought about lighting a cigarette to calm his nerves, but he had a feeling that the elves may disapprove. Opting instead to pull out the flask of dwarven ale, Arthur unscrewed the cap and took a sip from it, sighing in relief as the alcohol made its way down his throat. Screwing the cap back on, Arthur tucked the flask back into his satchel and started to check his equipment. His guns had gotten a little dirty in the battle in the Mines and Orcrist still had some blood staining the blade. Taking out a rag and some oil, Arthur began to rub down his guns and sword, cleaning them as thoroughly as possible.

After cleaning his weapons, Arthur spotted Frodo sitting nearby, a look of sadness on the young hobbit's face. Arthur could only guess that the Ringbearer was still grieving over Gandalf's demise. Walking over to Frodo, Arthur knelt down in front of the hobbit and spoke to him.

"You alright there, boy?" the cowboy asked the hobbit who looked up at him but then looked away down at the forest floor. Arthur hummed in thought before saying, "Frodo, I know what we went through was tough. I certainly never saw it coming, but I think Gandalf died to save us, to save you. He gave his life so that we could keep going," he said.

"But how do I live with that?" Frodo asked looking back at Arthur.

"Honestly, I ain't too sure how anyone can live with the knowledge that someone they loved died," Arthur replied. "Years ago, I had a son and he died when he was just a kid. I had a girl who loved and I threw that away and my momma died when I was a kid. And my daddy? Well, I watched him die and it weren't soon enough," he said bitterly.

Frodo looked at Arthur in surprise. "What I'm trying to say, Frodo, is that you can't go on in life mourning everyone in your life who died," the cowboy said. "You gotta keep pushing forward, keep going and don't look back," he added.

"You're saying I should forget Gandalf?" Frodo asked, a slight frown forming on his features.

"I certainly ain't saying that, Frodo," Arthur replied. "Hell, we can't ever forget the people we love, even if it weren't the way we wanna remember them," he said. "What I'm trying to say, Frodo, is don't carry the weight of the dead with you for the rest of yer life," he added.

Frodo nodded in understanding and Arthur smiled at him before standing up just as Aragorn and Haldir finished their argument.

"You will follow me," Haldir said to the fellowship and everyone began to pack up and prepared to move out.

…

It took about a day as the Fellowship travelled with Haldir's patrol to Caras Galadhon. Arthur's jaw almost dropped to the ground as he saw just how massive the trees were and he could spy winding stairways and platforms built or rather grown into them. The beauty of this place was awe inspiring and Arthur again wished he had a journal and pencil so that he could draw/sketch this place.

Climbing a winding staircase up one of the massive trees, the sunlight slowly began to fade and night fell over the forest and moonlight spilled down, bathing everyone and everything in soft silver blue light. Soon the Fellowship came to what Arthur could only liken to a palace, lit with silvery lights and a small walkway leading to a low staircase that led to an archway. Three-pronged golden leaves were scattered about on the floor. As the Fellowship assembled before the archway, Haldir stepped to one side and looked to the archway. In a glow of soft white light, two elves descended down the stairway, a male and a female, hand in hand.

Arthur could only stare in awe at the two elves and he surmised that these were the rulers of Lothlorien. The rest of the fellowship stared in awe as well, and Aragorn touched his forehead as an act of respect. The Lord and Lady of Lothlorien stood before the Fellowship; the Lady had focussed her gaze on Frodo who looked back at her and the Lord spoke.

"The Enemy knows that you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone," he said. "Nine there are here, yet ten there were, when setting out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with, I can no longer see him from afar," he added.

The Lady glanced over at Aragorn who looked back at her calmly and she spoke with sorrow in her voice, "Gandalf the Grey did not pass the border of these lands. He has fallen into shadow," she said and Aragorn nodded at this.

"He was taken by Shadow and Flame. Balrog of Morgoth," Legolas said sorrowfully.

The Elf Lord's surprise was evident on his face and Legolas then spoke further. "For we went needlessly into the net of Moria." Gimli lowered his head in shame, knowing that he suggested, even outright insisted they go through Moria.

The Lady then spoke to Gimli kindly. "Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. We do not yet know his full purpose. Do not the let the darkness of Khazad-Dum fill your heart, Gimli, Son of Gloin," she said and Gimli looked up at her.

"For the world has grown full of peril, and in all lands, love is now mingled with grief."

Boromir lifted his face to look at the Lady who looked back at him. Boromir turned his head, weeping.

"I am sorry for your loss," the elf lord said softly. "But what of your tenth member? Who is he among you?" he asked.

"Eh… that would be me, your lordship," Arthur said awkwardly, stepping forward. "My name's Arthur Morgan, I'm a… stranger to these lands," he introduced himself awkwardly.

"We welcome you to our lands, Arthur Morgan," the elf lord said respectfully and the Lady stared at Arthur who looked back at her.

"I sense many great things about you, Arthur Morgan," she said slowly. "Your life was full of tragedy and hardship. You lost your parents when you were a child and you were taken by a pair of men whom you greatly admired, but you watched one die in front of you, and you watched the other slowly lose himself to madness, twisted by a man you despised, even after you gave everything you had," she added.

"And I saw that you afflicted with an illness that helped you to see the wrongdoings of your life and that you tried to do some good with what life you had left before coming to this world," she then said.

"That's… about the sum of it," Arthur muttered feeling a little ashamed and embarrassed that those details were revealed about him.

"But it is not, is it?" the Lady asked him gently. "Of your days as an outlaw, running from the law and killing and robbing people," she then said.

Everyone looked at Arthur in surprise, apprehension on their faces. Arthur didn't have the courage to look them in the eye, but he did say, "Ma'am, I apologise but some thing I wanna keep to myself," he said ashamedly.

"As you wish, Arthur," the Lady replied kindly. The Elf Lord then spoke.

"While Gandalf has fallen and his death saddens us all, hope is not lost."

"however the quest stands upon the edge of a knife," the Lady said. "Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the company is true," she added looking at Samwise who held his gaze and did not look away.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight, you will sleep in peace," the Lady said.

…

An area was provided for the Fellowship to rest in on the ground. In the trees, elves could be heard singing and one voice rose above the others while they sang softly in the background. Legolas walked by the Hobbits, thin silver cup in his hand.

"A lament for Gandalf," the Mirkwood Prince remarked.

Aragorn sat nearby, sharpening his sword while Gimli lay on his back snoring. Arthur sat nearby, deep in thought over how the Lady was able to sense all that she said about him.

"What do they say about him?" Merry asked Legolas about the song the elves were singing.

"I have not the heart to tell you," Legolas said sadly. "For me, the grief is still too near," he added.

"I bet they don't mention his fireworks," Samwise said. "There should be averse about them," he added before standing to his feet and said, "The finest rockets ever seen, theu burst in stars of blue and green," he recited.

Gimli snored loudly as Samwise continued, "Or after thunder, silver shows!" Gimli snored loudly again and Aragorn swatted the dwarf's pillow eliciting a grunt from him. "Came falling down like a…" Samwise faltered struggling to find the right words. "Like a rain of flowers!" he declared before he sighed and sat back down onto his bedroll.

"Oh, that doesn't do them any justice, not by a long road," the Gamgee muttered unhappily.

Arthur then noticed Aragorn walk over to speak to Boromir, then Merry's voice called out to him.

"Mister Morgan, sir?" Arthur looked over the Brandybuck and said, "Yeah? What is it?" he asked.

"About what Lady Galadriel said, is it true?" Merry asked. "That you were an outlaw and killed and robbed people?" he asked timidly.

"It was in a way, depending how you looked at it," Arthur replied sadly. "In the beginning I didn't do much killing. I had principles back then, if you can believe that," he said with a bitter chuckle. "Times was, we used to help folk and we only robbed from those who too much and refused to share. One time we robbed a bank and gave most of the money away to those who had less than we did," he added.

"So, what changed?" Samwise asked.

"Well, we started taking on more hungry mouths in our gang and our dreams got bigger, and we had to start to looking after our own more than we had to look after others," Arthur replied. "Then some things happened, and it all went downhill," he said.

"You friends?" Legolas asked.

"Yeah, some of 'em ended up dead, or just went crazy," Arthur said as he was lost in his memories of the gang's final days. "I did what I could to keep the gang from falling apart, but it was too late in the end," he added.

"If you knew what you do now and could go back, would you have changed anything?" Legolas asked.

"I dunno, to be honest," Arthur said thoughtfully. "I remember saying to John to not look back, to be a man for once in his life. Be pretty hypocritical of me not to follow my own advice," he added.

"I see," Legolas said softly.

Arthur sighed before saying, "Well, the past is past. I dunno if everything I did can be forgiven or forgotten, but I… I guess I gotta do what I can to make up for it all," he said.

Arthur then lay back on his bedroll, covering his face with his hat and closed his eyes, hoping he could get some much-needed sleep.

…

A couple of hours later, Arthur woke up and he sat up, putting his hat beside him and looked around. Seeing the rest of the Fellowship asleep, the cowboy sighed and made to go back to sleep when a familiar voice whispered to him.

"_Arthur…"_

Alerted, Arthur stood up and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then Arthur caught a glimpse of someone disappearing behind a tree. As if pulled by some invisible force, Arthur walked over and began to follow a pathway, catching only glimpse of whomever it was he was following. Then Arthur came to a small glade with a short stairway leading down into a pit where a plinth of stone and a silver bow on top of it stood in the centre.

"_Arthur…"_ the voice called out to the cowboy again. Walking down the steps, Arthur went over to the silver bowl and found there was water in it. As Arthur gazed at the contents of the bowl, steam seemingly began to rise from it and images began to form themselves in the liquid. To Arthur's surprise, he saw a young boy with tousled brown hair playing with a wooden toy soldier. Arthur stared at the image of the child, thinking he had seen him before; his first thought it was John's son Jack, but dismissed that immediately as the boy in the water looked nothing like him.

Then a voice called out from the water, _"Arthur!"_ and the boy looked up to see a young woman with a smile on her face. The woman's face was recognisable to Arthur and it was with shock that he realised what he was looking at.

"Is… is this me?" he asked himself just as the image in the water changed to see a still young slightly older boy meeting a younger version of Dutch and Hosea for the first time. Arthur stared at the younger versions of Dutch and Hosea, it was almost like it was yesterday or perhaps he was there himself.

The image changed again to the first ever bank job Arthur pulled with Dutch and Hosea and their growing gang, taking the money and distributing it amongst the poor. Arthur realised that this water was showing him his past and he was engrossed it. The images changed, showing pieces of life with the Van Der Linde Gang up until the fateful Blackwater Ferry job that began the slow descent into the fall of the gang. Everything from the escape from Blackwater, to Arthur visiting Mr Downes, the jobs and deaths of Sean, Hosea and Lenny, the gunfights with various rival outlaw gangs to the moment where he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and the end where Arthur pleaded with Dutch to see Micah for the snivelling rat he was.

The scene then changed to small green buildings seemingly built into the hills where they stood. The image showed six small children running through a meadow, laughing and playing and farmers in the background planting and sewing crops. The next image showed a town square of people laughing and enjoying themselves and it was then Arthur realised that these people were hobbits if they way they had no shoes on their large hairy feet were any indication. Arthur felt a little envious at the happy and simple lives these hobbits had.

But then the scene changed to one of fear and darkness as the hobbit homes were set on fire and the hobbits were fleeing for their lives by orcs. Arthur watched as one orc drove its cruelly shaped sword into a hobbit who had fallen over and yell in triumph. Arthur then saw with horror as the scene changed into a landscape with grey smoky skies and factories and machines were hobbits were whipped and forced into slave labour by the orcs. Then the scene changed to a flaming red that glared brightly at Arthur and seemed to try and drag him into it.

"**Arthur!"**

In a moment of panic, Arthur knocked the bowl of water onto the ground, spilling the water. Panting hard at what he just saw, Arthur backed away from it, his heart hammering in his chest. Then Arthur realised someone was standing behind him and he turned around to see Lady Galadriel watching him calmly.

"Er… sorry, I just…" Arthur tried to explain himself when Galadriel raised a hand to forestall his words.

"It is alright, Mr Morgan. I understand," she said kindly.

"What… what is that thing?" Arthur asked pointing at the silver bowl.

"This… is my mirror, Arthur," Galadriel replied as she picked up the bowl and set in on the plinth.

"A mirror?" Arthur asked in disbelief. "How did it show me all that stuff?" he then asked.

"This mirror has the power to show someone events of their past, present and even their future" Galadriel said mysteriously. Arthur looked at the mirror then back at Galadriel.

"So, that place was…?" he tried ask.

"The Shire. The home of Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin and all hobbits," Galadriel confirmed.

"But why was it like that?" Arthur asked. "Is it in trouble?" A feeling of dread filled Arthur's chest as he realised that what he saw in that mirror could be happening right now.

"Frodo was here just before you, the mirror showed him what would happen if he were to fail in his quest," Galadriel replied.

"They'll all suffer," Arthur said in fear. He then asked another question burning on his mind. "And that… eye, that was Sauron, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Indeed, it was his spirit, and a spirit he shall remain until he reclaims what is his," Galadriel said.

"I have seen all the events of your past, Arthur Morgan. Who you are, what you were and what you have been through in your life and everything you lost and what little you gained for it. How you tried to do your best for everyone and do some good before the end," Galadriel then said.

"Hmm… yeah, I wasn't trying to seek forgiveness or anything, it wasn't about that at all fer me," Arthur replied. "I guess I was hoping that I could make my exit a little dignified than what I got," he said and he then gave a bitter humourless chuckle. "I've lived a bad life," he declared.

"We have all lived bad lives, Mr Morgan. We all sin," Galadriel said kindly.

"Heh, that's what the Sister said to me at the train station. Saw that too, huh?" Arthur remarked.

"Indeed, Arthur, I did," Galadriel replied with a smile. "I think you fool yourself into thinking that you're a bad person," she said. "You've done terrible things, but you are not a bad person. At least not entirely," she added.

"I don't know about that," Arthur muttered in response. "I mean, I could just walk away from all this and forget about everything and just go my own way and do what I always did," he said.

"But you wouldn't, would you?" Galadriel replied. "You could've walked away from Weathertop when the Nazgul attacked the Hobbits, but you chose to help," she said. "Choice is a powerful thing," she added.

"I guess so, but I've made a lot of bad choices in life," Arthur said sombrely.

"If you want to, you could look again and see what could've been," Galadriel offered gesturing to the mirror.

Arthur looked at the mirror contemplatively before sighing and shaking his head. "I don't think I could," he said to Galadriel. "I remember telling John before I sent him to his family to not look back, I guess I ought to do the same. I can't change the past, no matter how much I want to," he added sadly.

Galadriel nodded in understanding and said, "You are a good man, Arthur Morgan. You lived your life like a man and you turned into a good man in the end."

"I don't know about that, but I shall try," Arthur replied.

"Let your actions lead then, and your heart will follow," Galadriel said to the cowboy who nodded and left the glade.

…

The next morning, mist lay heavily on the river and tree branches arced through the fog and sunlight fell on the cold blue waters. On the shore of the riverbank, the Fellowship were cloaked in the same cloaks as the Lothlorien elves with green silver veined brooches fastening them around their necks.

"Never before have we clad outsiders in the garb of our own people. May these cloaks shield you from unfriendly eyes," Lord Celeborn said to the fellowship.

The Fellowship began to load some supplies given to them by the Elves onto the boats they were take down the river. Arthur was helping Legolas load some parcels of what looked like some kind of baked bread. Merry and Pippin were nearby and Legolas held up a wafer of the bread.

"Lembas, elvish way-bread," the Mirkwood elf said before taking a small bite of the wafer. "One bite is enough to fill a grown man's stomach," he added as he put the bread back in the parcel.

"Well, we won't have to worry about food for a while if one is all we need," Arthur chuckled before a loud burp caught his attention. Turning around to look at Merry and Pippin, mostly at Pippin, Arthur questioned him.

"How many did you eat?"

"Four," Pippin admitted with another burp escaping him.

Arthur growled and said to the Took sternly. "You gotta keep your stomach under control, boy! I don't wanna have to explain to everyone else when we run short o' food!" Arthur then went back to loading the boats, muttering as to how Pippin could so much for such a tiny person.

…

Before the Fellowship set on the river, they were given gifts by the elves. Galadriel spoke to Arthur, offering him a journal.

"I saw in your past that you were something of a writer and since you do not have your journal, I thought to rectify that," the Lady of Lorien said with a smile.

"Thank you, my lady. I greatly appreciate this," Arthur replied gratefully.

"I also have another gift to give you," Galadriel said. "Give me your revolver," she requested.

Cautious, Arthur handed over his Schofield to Galadriel who held it gently in her palm. Running her other palm over the gun, it was bathed in blue light and seemingly engraving itself on the grip of the gun was a small rune in the shape of a sun. Galadriel then handed the gun back to Arthur who looked at it.

"What… did you?" the cowboy asked as he looked at the small rune now on his gun.

"A little something that will help you in your time of utmost need," Galadriel replied with a smile.

Arthur nodded his thanks and holstered his gun.

…

The Fellowship then departed Lothlorien by the river. Rowing past the elves who stood along the shores, then sun rose over the hills as the Fellowship rowed their boats. Voices began to sing with the rising sun and Arthur looked back to see Galadriel standing along the shore.

Arthur thought back on the gifts everyone had been given; Legolas had been given a bow of the Galadhrim, Merry and Pippin received Noldorin daggers, Sam received some elven rope and Aragorn had been given an Elvish knife. Gimli asked to look upon Galadriel one last time and for a lock of her hair. Frodo had been given a tear shaped glass bottle of liquid that glowed.

As the Fellowship travelled along the river and onto the larger branch of the Anduin river beneath sheer cliffs. Arthur was in the lead boat by himself and behind him was Aragorn with Frodo. Boromir was with Merry and Pippin while Legolas and Gimli were in the rear. As the Fellowship continued their way, Legolas looked into the forests along the river, asif sensing something amiss. Arthur felt something was amiss as well and the loud cawing of a crow alerted everyone.

Night began to fall as the Fellowship took a moment to rest on a small sandbar in the river. Arthur stood on lookout with a cigarette pinched between his lips and his Lancaster in his hands. The cowboy then spied a wooden log floating down the river and he noticed a pair of hands holding onto the log and looking further, he spied an ugly looking face with large wet eyes glaring at him. Arthur aimed down the sights of his repeater, threatening to take aim at whatever the creature was.

"Ugly bastard," he muttered.

"That is Gollum," Aragorn said walking up to stand beside Arthur.

"Who?" Arthur asked lowering his repeater.

"Gollum, or Smeagol he was once called was once a Stoor, an early type of Hobbit before he found the One Ring and drove him mad, granting him long life," Aragorn replied. "It was Frodo's uncle Bilbo who took the ring from Gollum and he now hunts for it, calling it his precious," he said. "He follows us in hopes of reclaiming it," he added.

"Maybe I ought to send him a little message?" Arthur said with a sly smile as he aimed down at Gollum who tried to hide beneath the log he was using to float down river.

"There is no need. He is of little danger to us," Aragorn said.

"Ehh… maybe you're right," Arthur agreed. "Still, don't like the idea of that creepy thing following us," he said grimly as the log then floated and got stuck on some rocks.

"Arthur?" Arthur winced slightly and he looked at Aragorn, having a feeling what the Dunédain was about to ask. "Was it true?" the ranger asked.

"Was what true?" Arthur feigned.

"Your life before you came here, your life as an outlaw," Aragorn clarified. "Was it true?" he asked.

"More or less, I suppose," Arthur admitted reluctantly. "You wondering if you should kick me outta the group?" he asked Aragorn in a tired voice as if expecting it.

"No. Not yet at least," Aragorn replied. "You've proven to be a good man thus far, and you don't appear to have any desire for the ring, so I should give you the benefit of the doubt," he said.

"Thank you, for your trust then, I suppose," Arthur said, a little surprised at Aragorn's response.

"Truth be told, I had a feeling that you were an outlaw since we first met," Aragorn then said.

"Really? What gave me away?" Arthur chuckled.

"I've hunted down enough outlaws and bandits to recognise the small signs, how you acted, and things you spoke about," Aragorn replied.

"Guess I should be a little less forthcoming next time," Arthur said with a dry chuckle. Aragorn gave a slight chuckle as well.

"Come now, it's Boromir's turn to take watch," the Dunédain said to the cowboy who nodded, feeling grateful to get some sleep.

Arthur lay on his bedroll staring up at the stars, thinking over what had been revealed to the Fellowship before closing his eyes and getting some sleep.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

**A/N: There! The sixth chapter of this story done and dusted! I hope it was enough to satisfy you all since so many of you want to keep reading this. I cannot promise regular updates, but I will try to keep this story going.**

**Haven't got much more to say, other than reviews and feedback are appreciated and welcome, so long as they're constructive, helpful and polite.**

**And that's about all I have, so I'll see you all in the next one.**

**Be kind to one another,**

**Angry lil' elf.**


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